Death toll in Venezuela's double earthquake rises above 1,400
Nadeem Badshah
The death toll in Venezuela from two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 has climbed to 1,430, with nearly 69,000 people missing. Rescue efforts are ongoing as international teams join the search for survivors.
Venezuelan authorities said the death toll from two major earthquakes earlier this week has now risen to 1,430. The figure was announced by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on national television.
According to Rodríguez, an additional 3,200 people were injured and 3,100 lost their homes in the disaster. At least 68,900 people have been reported missing by relatives.
The two earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 respectively, struck within one minute on Wednesday evening, causing many buildings in the north of the country to collapse.
In La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, many residents are still using shovels and bare hands to dig through the rubble, hoping to find survivors.
The United Nations estimates that the earthquakes caused $6.7 billion in damage, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP. This assessment only accounts for property losses such as housing and does not yet include the broader economic impact.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said more than 14,000 soldiers and police officers are being deployed to the affected areas. These zones have been sealed off, requiring special permits to enter.
Additional rescue teams from countries around the world, including Mexico, the United States, Brazil, El Salvador and France, arrived in Venezuela on Saturday. Earlier, teams from the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom had also been dispatched.
Jeremy Lewin, a U.S. State Department official, said the U.S. military would help coordinate flights carrying rescue workers, field hospitals and medical supplies. Two search teams totaling 80 people have been deployed, and a U.S. Navy transport ship is anchored off the Venezuelan coast to receive survivors evacuated by air who need medical care.
Lewin described the effort as a “race against time” to find the injured. “Many people are trapped under the rubble, and the top priority is to get rescue teams and medical personnel to them as quickly as possible to save their lives.”
Loyce Pace, regional director for the Americas at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said: “People are still in shock as they return to homes that were once their sanctuaries.” Among the victims are many foreign nationals, including 15 Portuguese, 7 Chinese, 2 Brazilians, 5 Spaniards and one Italian-Venezuelan.
