The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela has climbed past 1,400, with thousands injured and large numbers still unaccounted for, as rescue teams continue to claw through collapsed buildings in some of the country’s most densely populated areas. What began as a single disaster has turned into one of the worst seismic events the country has seen in decades.
The shaking came in quick succession: a strong tremor was followed within seconds by an even larger quake, a one-two punch that gave residents almost no time to react. The coastal state of La Guaira and the capital, Caracas, bore the brunt, where older buildings folded and a major airport serving the capital was badly damaged, complicating the arrival of aid.
A desperate search
Emergency crews, soldiers and volunteers have been working around the clock, using heavy machinery and bare hands to reach people trapped beneath slabs of concrete. More than a thousand buildings are reported destroyed, and with so many still missing, officials have warned that the count of the dead is likely to rise further in the coming days.
An international tragedy
The disaster has reached well beyond Venezuela’s borders. Foreign nationals are among the confirmed dead, and several governments have begun coordinating consular help and relief. International agencies have moved to support search-and-rescue and medical efforts, while neighbouring countries weigh how to send aid to a nation whose infrastructure was already stretched.
For survivors, the immediate crisis is shelter, clean water and medical care, with hospitals overwhelmed and many families spending nights in the open for fear of aftershocks. The longer reckoning — over building standards, emergency preparedness and how a fragile economy will fund reconstruction — will follow once the rubble is cleared. For now, the focus remains on the narrowing window to find anyone still alive.
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