The death toll from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes has surpassed 4,000, the government announced on Friday. At least 4,118 people were killed and 16,740 injured in the back-to-back quakes on June 24 that flattened entire districts in the coastal state of La Guaira, according to Venezuelan parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez, who posted the figures on Telegram. Thousands more remain listed as missing.
Scale of the Disaster
A 7.5-magnitude quake, the largest in Venezuela in over a century, struck 39 seconds after an initial 7.2-magnitude shock, collapsing high-rise apartment blocks and devastating communities. Although official rescue teams have halted searches for survivors, family members continue to sift through the rubble, hoping to recover bodies for dignified burials.
On Friday, a 3.0-magnitude aftershock in central Caracas triggered momentary panic and led to the evacuation of several buildings, underscoring the ongoing seismic instability.
Recovery Challenges
The scale of the recovery effort is immense, as Venezuela's state services have been severely degraded by a prolonged economic crisis. The United Nations on Wednesday issued an urgent appeal for nearly $300 million to support earthquake relief operations, aiming to assist 1.3 million people in urgent need of aid. Non-governmental organisations, which were previously targets of government repression, are now operating mobile kitchens, clinics, and field hospitals in the northern state of La Guaira, where most of the devastation occurred.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimates direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at approximately $37 billion.
International Pleas and Controversy
Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has called for the release of frozen assets held abroad to fund recovery efforts. On Wednesday, she said she asked King Charles III to release about 30 tons of Venezuelan gold frozen under UK sanctions. Rodríguez has defended her government's emergency response to the twin earthquakes, vowing that the country would not descend into social unrest despite widespread anger among Venezuelans over what they perceive as an inadequate response by the US-backed government before international teams arrived.
