Caracas, Venezuela – Repeated power grid failures in Venezuela have led to water shortages across the country. 

With no electricity, pumping stations cease to function, severely limiting the water services. 

But Venezuelans do their best to find water wherever they can: from springs, leaky pipes, gutters, government-provided tankers and the water that flows through the Guaire River in Caracas.

In the country’s most impoverished areas, residents, who have experienced shortages for years, have felt the power cuts the hardest. 

“Today, I feel sick, there is no water, no power, no nothing. I used to have a lot, but things have changed in the last years,” said Carmen, a 70-year-old in Petare, one of the world’s largest slums, located in the hills on the outskirts of Caracas,

President Nicolas Maduro blames opponents of sabotaging the power supply. The country’s opposition, led by Juan Guaido, says the problem is caused by mismanagement, corruption and lack up upkeep of Venezuela’s power and water networks.

The water shortages only add more stress to residents trying to cope with the country’s deepening political and economic crises.