BOONE, N.C., June 30, 2026—Today, international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse accepted its first patients at the Emergency Field Hospital in La Guaira, Venezuela. Back-to-back deadly earthquakes rocked the region last week, killing more than 1,700 people and leaving thousands of families displaced and in desperate need of medical care. Nearly 50,000 people are still missing as search and rescue efforts continue. Samaritan’s Purse disaster response specialists worked around the clock to build the Emergency Field Hospital, which is equipped with two operating rooms, 56 patient beds, a critical care unit, pharmacy and laboratory.

“There is so much destruction—hundreds of buildings have collapsed, thousands are damaged and tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for. It breaks my heart to see so much suffering. We know the death toll is going to go up, and the need is huge,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. “Our field hospital is open, and we are providing life-saving surgical care, treating wounds and reminding families that God loves them. The people of Venezuela need our prayers.”

The N.C.-based organization has more than 40 Disaster Assistance Response Team members on the ground in Venezuela with more travelling to the area daily. Samaritan’s Purse is also distributing critical relief supplies such as shelter material, blankets and hygiene kits as well as setting up multiple community water filtration units to provide safe drinking water. The ministry has airlifted more than 98 tons of critical relief supplies to Venezuela and will continue to use its 767 cargo plane to deliver more relief items to the hard-hit nation.

Based in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan's Purse is an international Christian relief organization that responds to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in the aftermath of disasters and crisis situations—both in the U.S. and around the world. Led by President and CEO Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disaster, disease, poverty, famine, and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org.