Venezuela Earthquake
Response Hackathon
Registration opens July 1; the build kicks off July 7. Builders, responders, and humanitarians from anywhere in the world. One goal: ship technology that helps people survive and recover from the earthquakes that just struck Venezuela.
- Format
- Online · Global
- Kickoff
- Tue, Jul 7
- Build
- Jul 7–28
- Demo day
- Thu, Jul 30
Why now
On June 24, 2026, two powerful earthquakes — magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 — struck north-central Venezuela less than a minute apart.
The shallow quakes hit near Yumare in Yaracuy state, about 280 km (175 mi) west of Caracas, with the heaviest damage along the coast in La Guaira and in the capital itself. A 22-story tower collapsed in Caracas, the main international airport closed, and electricity, water, and mobile networks failed across the worst-hit areas. The government declared a national state of emergency, and strong aftershocks have continued.
As of June 26, official death tolls had climbed into the hundreds with thousands injured — and were still rising — while tens of thousands of people have been reported missing through scattered, unverified online registries. The UN, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, PAHO/WHO, WFP, and UNICEF are mobilizing search-and-rescue teams, emergency medical teams, and relief supplies.
The gaps responders describe are gaps technology can help close: matching and de-duplicating missing-persons reports across fragmented platforms, keeping information flowing where national connectivity dropped by roughly a third, mapping damage from satellite imagery, triaging which buildings are safe to re-enter, and matching people's needs to shelter and supplies. That's what we'll build — fast, in the open, and alongside the people closest to the disaster.
M7.2 → M7.5
Two quakes ~40 seconds apart · June 24, 2026 (USGS)
Up to 6.8M
people affected, including 3.9M children (IOM / UNICEF)
250+
buildings reported collapsed in La Guaira alone (CBS News, Jun 25)
Sources: USGS · UN News · PAHO/WHO · IFRC · Al Jazeera · CBS News. Figures reflect early reporting and may change as the response develops.
What you'll build
Pick a track or bring your own idea. Every track maps to a real gap responders are facing right now.
Rapid Damage Mapping
Turn satellite, drone, and social-media imagery into live maps of collapsed buildings, blocked roads, and the hardest-hit zones — so responders know where to go first.
Search, Rescue & Missing Persons
Help families and agencies register, find, and reconnect missing people, and coordinate search-and-rescue across organizations without duplicating effort.
Needs & Resources Matching
Match urgent needs — medical care, water, shelter, food — to the nearest available supplies, shelters, and volunteers in real time.
Aftershock & Structural Safety
Aftershock-aware risk guidance and fast structural triage to flag which buildings are unsafe to re-enter and keep people out of danger.
Connectivity & Information
Offline-first, low-bandwidth, and multilingual (Spanish and Indigenous languages) tools that get trustworthy information to affected people and responders.
Epidemic & WASH Surveillance
Spot outbreaks before they spread: let clinics and shelters report symptoms and water conditions, then flag disease clusters and unsafe water points. After a quake, waterborne illness often kills more people than the shaking did.
Aid & Cash Distribution Integrity
Make sure help reaches the right people: de-duplicate beneficiary lists across agencies, catch double-counting and exclusion, and flag fraudulent sign-ups and fake donation drives.
Rumor & Misinformation Verification
Cut through the noise: detect and verify viral claims — recycled footage, false casualty or looting rumors, scam links — and surface what's confirmed to responders and the public.
Child Protection & Family Tracing
Safely reconnect unaccompanied and separated children with their families, with safeguarding, consent, and anti-trafficking controls built in from the start — privacy-by-design and synthetic data only, never a public board.
Open / Bring your own idea
Have a different idea that helps people in this disaster? Bring it. The best ideas often come from the people closest to the problem.
Open by default
Every project is open-source — so the next community facing a disaster can build on it instead of starting over.
To be eligible, each submission ships as a public repository under Apache 2.0 (or another OSI-approved license). We're not building one-off demos — we're building a commons that outlasts this event.
Open code, never people's data
“Open” means your code — never the personal information or precise locations of affected people. Build and demo with synthetic or sample data. In a disaster, leaked data can put people in real danger, so protecting privacy and dignity is part of how projects are judged.
How it works
- Wed, Jul 1
Launch — registration opens
We go live and registration opens. Sign up anytime from here, solo or as a team — registration stays open right through the build.
- Jul 1 – 7
Sign up & form teams
The week before kickoff: register, meet teammates (we'll help match you), and grab the resource pack so you're ready to build on day one.
- Tue, Jul 7
Official kickoff — build begins
The hackathon officially starts: opening session, problem briefings from responders, final team formation, and the datasets and APIs go live.
- Jul 7 – 28
Build
Three weeks to build. Office hours, mentors, and check-ins throughout with people who know the disaster firsthand.
- Tue, Jul 28
Submissions due
Ship your project with a short demo video and a public, open-source repo (Apache 2.0) by 23:59 (anywhere on Earth).
Open the submission form → - Thu, Jul 30
Demo day & judging
Teams present. Judges and relief partners score for real-world impact and deployability.
- Fri, Jul 31
Winners & next steps
We celebrate the standouts and start pairing the most promising projects with relief partners.
Judging & recognition
Humanitarian impact
Does it address a real, current need in this response?
Deployability
Could responders or affected people actually use it soon — not someday?
Technical merit
The craft, ingenuity, and soundness of what you built.
Responsible & humane design
Privacy, dignity, accessibility, and works in low-resource, low-connectivity settings.
Openness
Required: open-source (Apache 2.0 or similar) and built to be reused well beyond this event — the most reusable projects stand out.
This is about impact, not prize money. Standout teams get their work featured, mentorship to harden it for the field, and warm introductions to relief organizations and the AI Humane Society network — with our help pushing the most promising projects toward real deployment. Sponsor prizes, if any, will be announced before kickoff.
FAQ
Who can join?+
Anyone, anywhere — engineers, data scientists, designers, GIS and mapping people, translators, first responders, and anyone with on-the-ground knowledge of Venezuela. All skill levels are welcome.
How much does it cost?+
Nothing. It's free and fully online.
Do I need a team?+
No. Register solo and we'll help you find teammates, or bring your own team of up to five people.
Do I need to be in Venezuela?+
No — it's global and remote. That said, Spanish speakers and people with local knowledge are especially valuable.
What should I build on?+
Your choice of stack. We'll share datasets, APIs, and problem briefs at kickoff. Every project must be open-source — we recommend Apache 2.0.
How do I submit my project?+
Use the submission form on the “Submit your project” page (linked from the timeline above). You'll paste a public, open-source repo link and a short demo video link, plus a sentence on what it does. The deadline is Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 23:59 anywhere on Earth — and you can resubmit to update right up to then.
What about data and privacy?+
Disaster data involves real, vulnerable people. Open-source your code — but never commit real personal data or precise locations. Build with synthetic or sample data. Protecting privacy and dignity is part of how projects are judged.
What happens to winning projects?+
We help pair the most promising work with relief organizations and the AI Humane Society network to push toward real deployment.
Register for the hackathon
Registration opens July 1 and stays open right through the build — add your name anytime and we'll send the kickoff details (we kick off July 7), team-up channels, and the resource pack. Whether you can give a weekend or all three weeks — you're needed.