More than 68,000 people are still missing after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, killing 1,430 people and injuring 3,238 others.
A preliminary United Nations Development Programme estimate has put the direct physical damage from this week’s devastating earthquakes at $6.7 billion, as authorities continue searching for tens of thousands of missing people.
The back-to-back tremors, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, caused widespread destruction across affected areas and left rescue teams racing to find survivors beneath collapsed buildings. The first 72 hours after an earthquake are considered the most critical period for successful rescues. That window has now passed, raising fears for those still unaccounted for.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said 24 countries have provided support so far. She said international assistance includes 521 tonnes of supplies, 86 canine teams and more than 2,741 search, rescue and support personnel. They are working alongside around 30,000 Venezuelan specialists involved in search and rescue operations.
Emergency teams from abroad have flown in to support the response, while local residents have also joined efforts, digging through rubble in search of relatives and neighbours.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Sunday that she had spoken with Rodríguez after the earthquakes.
“I conveyed the EU’s full solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones,” Kallas wrote on X.
She said the EU had already mobilised €5 million in emergency assistance for affected communities.
The disaster has left Venezuela facing a major humanitarian and reconstruction challenge, with rescue operations still underway and the scale of damage continuing to emerge.
