Supplies run dry in Venezuelan village on edge of quake zone

Chichiriviche de la Costa (Venezuela) (AFP) – A convoy of World Food Programme (WFP) trucks trundles up a winding road along the Venezuelan coast, leaving the quake-leveled town of Catia La Mar far behind.

Issued on: 18/07/2026 - 03:38

4 min Reading time

They are heading for the remote village of Chichiriviche de la Costa, which escaped the twin disasters on June 24 relatively unscathed but has seen its resources cut off in the fallout.Steep ascents, hairpin bends and stretches of unpaved road have added to the difficulties facing this tourist town, whose visitors have unsurprisingly stopped visiting while fish sales have stalled.The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes shattered the coastal state of La Guaira, killing at least 5,069 people and causing hundreds of buildings to crumble.Chichiriviche's population of barely 2,000 received humanitarian aid from the Netherlands via helicopter in the days following the disaster.

Chichiriviche de la Costa is a remote tourist destination on the Venezuelan coast © Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP