Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Caracas La Guaira Latest Updates

A day after twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela’s northern coast just a minute apart, the death toll has climbed to 235 with more than 4,300 injured. International rescue teams are now on the ground, but hundreds are reportedly still trapped under rubble and thousands are still missing.

Venezuela’s Health Minister Carlos Alvarado confirmed 235 deaths on Thursday, speaking on state television. “Unfortunately we have received around 235 patients who arrive without vital signs or die when they arrive at our health facilities,” he was quoted as saying by BBC.

The figure is expected to rise. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said more than 200 people remain trapped under the rubble of around 250 collapsed or damaged buildings, with at least 157 people still officially missing.

The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, has taken the heaviest blow. Venezuela’s main international airport is located there and remains closed due to structural damage a significant obstacle for incoming aid and rescue teams. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared La Guaira a disaster zone on Wednesday night and called on businesses to release heavy construction equipment for rescue operations.

In downtown Caracas, hundreds of residents spent the night in parks and open spaces, too afraid to go back inside their homes. Parts of the capital lost electricity and mobile phone service. Subway services were suspended, natural gas was shut off and schools closed for several days, with some buildings converted into emergency shelters and donation centres.

The priority, officials say, is finding people still alive under the rubble. Two of the United States’ most capable urban search and rescue teams from Fairfax County in Virginia and Los Angeles County in California are now deploying to Venezuela, CNN reported. Mexico has sent rescue and health personnel from its defence secretariat. The Dominican Republic said its first team had already landed, with more international teams expected through the day.

On the ground, residents described neighbours doing much of the early digging themselves, with little sign of government teams outside Caracas in the immediate aftermath.

One resident, Dayana Delgado, asked where the heavy machinery the government had promised had gone. “I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she told AP of her missing eight-year-old son.

Retired teacher Juan Alberto Mendaño described climbing through wreckage in La Guaira and spotting a woman trapped in the rubble, signalling with her hand. “May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” he said. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake, measuring 7.2 in magnitude, struck west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometres. The second, measuring 7.5, hit just a minute later, 16 kilometres southwest of Moron, at a shallower depth of just 10 kilometres.

The rapid sequence and shallow depth combined to amplify the impact significantly, according to Brazilian geophysicist Marcos Ferreira. “It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming too,” he told AP. “That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard.” The earthquakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and were felt as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region.

Beyond the US and Mexico, leaders from Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Qatar and Canada have pledged aid, with some shipments already en route. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke directly to acting President Rodríguez after the quakes, said the American response would be immediate and large-scale. “We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” he told reporters.

The US Treasury also announced it would temporarily waive some sanctions on Venezuela until 23 October, to allow relief transactions that would otherwise be prohibited. Spain’s foreign ministry said at least 80 of its nationals in Venezuela were unaccounted for.

Acting President Rodríguez said the government was setting up a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes, and had asked the United Nations to lift social media restrictions so that people could share information about missing relatives. Shortly after the UN appeal, Venezuelans were able to access X the platform had been blocked since August 2024 under former president Nicolás Maduro.

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