Direct Relief International is now preparing it first shipment of emergency medical aid to help victims of the floods and landslides in Venezuela. More than 5,000 people have been reported dead, making this the country's worst natural disaster of the century. Direct Relief will be sending a variety of emergency medical supplies to the area, where a field hospital and refugee camp has been set up at the Caracas airport. Direct Relief has been in contact with its partners in northern Venezuela and has learned that the most immediate health problems among the survivors are gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory infections, skin infections and trauma injuries. The threat of cholera and other infectious diseases also exists in the aftermath of many flood disasters. Direct Relief's initial shipment will include antibiotics, analgesics, rehydration salts, wound dressings and first-aid supplies to treat all these conditions.