Overview
- A series of strong earthquakes that struck on 24 June collapsed buildings across northern Venezuela with La Guaira and Caraballeda hardest hit and provisional official tolls of about 1,430 dead, 3,238 injured and roughly 50,000 missing.
- Rescue teams continue to search the rubble while aftershocks and damaged roads slow operations and occasional late recoveries — including an 11‑year‑old pulled out days later and an 18‑day‑old neonate rescued earlier — give rare hope.
- International response has stepped up with specialized urban search‑and‑rescue teams on the ground, Italian USAR units deployed and an initial €5 million package from Italy plus UN and NGO airlifts of medical supplies and tents to Valencia and staging areas.
- Humanitarian agencies warn the emergency is large and urgent: UNICEF says 1.8 million people need help including 680,000 children and calls for tens of millions of dollars to fund water, shelter, health and protection services.
- Medical responders and rights groups report hospitals strained, bodies remaining under rubble and sanitation risks in hot weather that raise infection concerns, and the quake is expected to cause lasting economic and social damage across the region.