Venezuela restores water pumping to two states after months of disruption
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Officials in Nueva Esparta state, Venezuela confirmed water pumping resumed from the Turimiquire reservoir in Sucre state after a seven-month shutdown.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake on February 22 caused a rockslide that blocked a tunnel carrying water to local communities. Governor Marisel Velásquez stated the water first reached the Tubores municipality, then flowed to Díaz, Marcano, García, and Gómez.
The rockslide at the Turimiquire system on February 27 blocked 82% of a key water pipeline, reducing flow from 5,000 to 1,000 liters per second and cutting off regular service to the city of Cumaná. Following the disruption, the Venezuelan Red Cross and the United Nations deployed to Sucre state, providing drinking water and purification tablets to families in Cumaná.
The water shortage led the Sucre government to declare a “water emergency” on March 5, enacting a decree that prohibited washing cars, filling pools, and large-scale irrigation. The European Union responded to the crisis in April by allocating 150,000 euros in humanitarian aid, expecting to directly benefit more than 18,000 people through water distribution and purification supplies. The aid will support the Venezuelan Red Cross’s emergency response for three months.
