The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela has climbed above 900, with thousands more injured as emergency crews and international rescue teams continue searching through collapsed buildings for survivors.
Government officials said at least 920 people have been killed and 3,360 others injured following the twin earthquakes that hit the country on Wednesday. Authorities also believe at least 172 people remain trapped beneath the rubble, raising fears that the number of fatalities will continue to rise in the coming days.
The disaster was triggered by two powerful earthquakes that struck within seconds of one another, with the second registering a magnitude of 7.5, making it one of the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela in more than a century.
The northern coastal state of La Guaira has suffered the worst destruction. The region is home to one of the country’s principal ports and also contains Simón Bolívar International Airport, Venezuela’s main international gateway.
Scenes of devastation have emerged across the affected areas, with hundreds of buildings reduced to rubble, including hospitals, shopping centres and residential complexes. Authorities estimate that more than 1,000 infrastructure sites have been damaged.
Among those desperately awaiting news is Natacha Diaz, whose two daughters, aged 22 and 23, were trapped inside a collapsed shopping centre in La Guaira where they worked as manicurists.
“They were with their friends. I just want them to be found,” she said. “I have faith and hope that they are there. They are all I have.”
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said dozens of people had been rescued alive, describing each successful rescue as a source of hope for families and the nation. She also revealed that authorities have recorded 214 aftershocks since the initial earthquakes.
The country’s already fragile healthcare system is struggling to cope with the emergency. Medical staff have established makeshift treatment centres as surviving hospitals become overwhelmed with injured patients.
Doctor Pedro Javier Fernandez said Venezuela’s healthcare facilities were already facing shortages of supplies and medicines before the disaster struck.
“All our hospitals lack supplies and medicines. We are not able to provide medical attention to our people on a normal day,” he said, adding that the scale of the tragedy has made the crisis even more difficult to manage.
The initial rescue operation was hampered by damaged roads, communication disruptions and limited resources. Reports from affected areas describe rescuers digging through debris with their bare hands in a desperate effort to reach survivors.
International support has begun arriving in significant numbers. Hundreds of rescue workers from several countries are now operating in Venezuela, with more teams expected in the coming days. The United Kingdom has dispatched military aircraft carrying specialist search-and-rescue personnel, dogs and drones from multiple fire services. The United States, the Netherlands, Mexico and Switzerland have also sent assistance teams.
Washington has additionally announced $150 million in aid and deployed transport aircraft and naval vessels to support relief efforts.
Aid agencies have warned that Venezuela’s longstanding economic crisis has left the country particularly vulnerable to a disaster of this scale. Jan Egeland said the country’s crumbling infrastructure and years of underinvestment have severely weakened its ability to respond to emergencies.
The United Nations has called for a coordinated international response. Humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said global assistance is being organised and assured Venezuelans that help is on its way.
Despite the destruction, moments of hope have emerged. State television broadcast the rescue of three young siblings from beneath the ruins in La Guaira. The children, covered in dust and debris, were pulled alive from a narrow gap between chunks of concrete, providing a rare uplifting moment amid the tragedy.
Tributes have also poured in for victims of the disaster. Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello announced that his wife, Andrea, died while saving the life of their young daughter during the earthquakes.
“I’ll tell her the story of how you saved her, my love,” Bello wrote on social media. “How you gave your own life for our daughter.”
The disaster has also claimed the lives of foreign nationals, including one Portuguese citizen, two Brazilians and four Spanish nationals, while more than 100 Spanish citizens remain unaccounted for.
Authorities say the strongest aftershocks have continued to affect Venezuela’s northern coastline, including the states of La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón, as rescue operations continue around the clock.
The catastrophe comes at a politically sensitive time for Venezuela, which has been experiencing deep uncertainty following the removal of former president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year and the installation of Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader.
Opposition figures say the earthquakes have exposed both the country’s infrastructure weaknesses and the state’s limited ability to respond to a major humanitarian emergency. Nevertheless, they have praised the solidarity shown by ordinary Venezuelans and volunteers who have joined the search for survivors.
As rescue workers continue to comb through the ruins, thousands of families across Venezuela remain anxiously waiting for news of missing loved ones, hoping that more survivors will still be found beneath the debris.
