Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Tops 1,900 as Rescuers Search La Guaira Ruins

Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 hitting seconds apart near the coastal area of La Guaira, and the death toll climbed to more than 1,900 by Tuesday as rescuers raced to reach people trapped under rubble.

NASA’s satellite assessment suggested “approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region,” while CBS News described a search in La Guaira where rescuers shouted for anyone who could hear them to bang on something three times as a signal.

Al Jazeera

In Caracas, Dr. Huníades Urbina-Medina at Dr. José Manuel de Los Ríos Children’s Hospital said the ICU could treat only four children at a time, after it had once been able to “receive up to 10 patients,” and she said the hospital lacked enough personnel, medicines, and mechanical ventilators.

The humanitarian crisis deepened as CNN reported the casualty toll stood at “more than 1,900 dead and over 10,000 injured,” and it quoted Urbina-Medina saying, “No hospital in Venezuela is prepared for the day-by-day.”

As the window for finding survivors narrowed, AP reported Venezuelans combed Monday through more ruins while attention turned to a humanitarian crisis that could persist for years, and it said a 4.6 magnitude aftershock rumbled through the disaster zone in La Guaira.

AP also described Jorge Rodríguez saying electricity had been restored to 90% of the hardest-hit state of La Guaira and that authorities had set up 15 temporary displacement camps, while Delcy Rodríguez shared footage and wrote on X, “Each life saved is a victory for hope.”

Al Jazeera

In the same period, Al Jazeera reported that the death toll had risen to at least 1,450 and that National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said at least 3,150 people were injured, with 774 buildings collapsed and just under 50,000 people reported missing.

Al Jazeera added that interim President Delcy Rodriguez said, “We always maintain hope,” as it described rescues including a 60-year-old woman pulled from the rubble in Carabayida after 86 hours and a U.S. team from Virginia pulling a man and his son from the ruins on Sunday morning.

Beyond the official figures, the quake’s personal losses spread through Venezuela’s sports community, with Complex describing Argentine defender Lucas Trejo mourning his wife and two children after rescue workers recovered their bodies following a three-day search in La Guaira.

“When two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, buildings collapsed, families were separated, and whole communities were left digging through dust and concrete for the people they loved”

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Complex also reported that Venezuelan footballer Héctor Bello said his partner died protecting their infant daughter when their home collapsed, and it quoted Bello writing, “You gave your own life for our daughter … you were a brave woman who never abandoned her, even as you took your last breaths.”

In Caracas and La Guaira, the crisis also strained medical capacity and shelter options, with CNN describing Dr. José Manuel de Los Ríos Children’s Hospital treating only four children in the ICU and BBC reporting survivors sheltering in Catia la Mar sleeping outdoors or in tents.

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported that volunteers from Venezuela’s Jewish community opened synagogues and community centers to hundreds of frightened residents, and it quoted Roberto Mishkin saying, “We started looking for food, water and blankets for everyone.”