Residents search through the rubble of a collapsed building.Image: keystone
June 30, 2026, 8:11 p.mJune 30, 2026, 8:26 p.m
After the earthquakes in Venezuela, the death toll has risen to at least 1,943. This was announced by the President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez. More than 10,500 people were injured. In the severely affected La Guaira region, there is still no trace of around 10,000 people.
Authorities estimate that there were around 30,000 people in just two towns in La Guaira – Catia La Mar and Caraballeda – at the time of the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on Wednesday evening. Of these, around 13,500 were able to get to safety themselves and around 6,400 more were rescued by rescue workers in the days afterwards, said Rodríguez. He did not provide any information about the missing 10,000 people.
There is hardly any hope for survivors
Barely a week after the quake, hope of rescuing survivors is dwindling. Around 855 buildings were completely destroyed or severely damaged. Emergency services from Venezuela and numerous other countries continue to search for people buried under collapsed buildings. According to a model calculation by the US earthquake monitoring station USGS, the number of deaths could be in the tens of thousands.
Venezuela was already in a difficult situation before the earthquakes. For years, the country has suffered from political tensions, economic problems and one of the largest migration crises in the world. In January, Washington carried out a military operation in the country in which authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro was captured. The current head of state, Delcy Rodríguez, was vice president in the Maduro government. (sda/dpa)