CARACAS, VENEZUELA (MNN); The death toll from the two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela earlier this week has climbed to 920, while more than 50,000 people remain missing as rescue teams race against time to search for survivors beneath the rubble.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced the updated casualty figure during a televised address on Friday, significantly higher than the previous official toll of 589. He also confirmed the deployment of additional military units to the severely affected coastal state of La Guaira, where rescue operations continue around the clock.
According to United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, over 50,000 people are still unaccounted for, making the disaster one of the deadliest and most challenging humanitarian emergencies in Latin America in recent years.
Thousands of desperate families have joined rescue workers in searching for relatives trapped beneath collapsed buildings, with many residents using their bare hands to remove debris while waiting for heavy machinery to arrive.
The Venezuelan government has confirmed nearly 2,980 injuries, while hospitals in the affected regions continue to receive large numbers of wounded survivors.
The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck approximately 160 kilometres west of Caracas on Wednesday evening during a national public holiday. The powerful tremors flattened residential areas, commercial buildings and public infrastructure in and around the capital, making them among the strongest earthquakes recorded in modern Latin American history.
The United States Geological Survey has warned that the final death toll could eventually exceed 10,000 as rescue teams continue searching through heavily damaged areas.
The worst destruction occurred in La Guaira, where at least 100 buildings, including several high-rise apartment complexes, collapsed completely. Residents complained of delays in the arrival of rescue equipment, despite assurances from interim President Delcy Rodriguez that all available national resources had been mobilised.
One grieving mother, Yamileth Jimenez, said her 19-year-old son remained trapped beneath the ruins of their apartment building, adding that rescuers lacked the machinery needed to reach him.
Citizens across Venezuela have also launched volunteer relief efforts. Convoys of motorcycles carrying food, water, medicines and emergency supplies travelled from Caracas, Valencia and other cities to assist survivors in the disaster zone.
International assistance has begun arriving from across the world. Rescue teams from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain, Colombia, Switzerland and Germany have reached Venezuela with specialised search equipment, rescue dogs and medical supplies.
The United States announced emergency assistance worth 150 million dollars and temporarily eased long-standing sanctions to facilitate humanitarian relief operations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American rescue teams would assist recovery efforts, while the Pentagon would help restore operations at Caracas’ damaged airport.
President Jorge Rodriguez thanked the international community for its support, saying foreign rescue teams had been deployed to the worst-hit areas.
The disaster has struck a country already facing years of economic hardship, political instability and deteriorating public infrastructure. Millions of Venezuelans remain vulnerable as thousands have lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that nearly seven million people could be affected by the disaster and has begun distributing emergency shelters and humanitarian assistance.
Despite the widespread devastation, foreign energy companies reported that Venezuela’s oil production facilities and major petroleum infrastructure had escaped significant damage.
Authorities have converted the Caracas Stock Exchange into a humanitarian aid collection centre as relief efforts continue.
Before this tragedy, Venezuela’s deadliest modern earthquake occurred in 1967, claiming approximately 240 lives. The latest disaster has now become the most devastating earthquake in the country’s contemporary history.
