Emergency crews continue to work at the site of collapsed buildings in Venezuela despite a 72-hour window seen as critical for surviving in the rubble after earthquakes. [Gaby Oraa/Reuters]
By AFP, AP and Reuters30 Jun 2026
With the window for finding survivors closing fast, Venezuelans are combing through the ruins of buildings toppled by last week’s powerful back-to-back earthquakes amid growing fears of a humanitarian crisis that could last years.
Authorities said on Monday that at least 1,719 people have been killed and 5,034 injured in the twin quakes that struck on Wednesday in the northern state of La Guaira. Tens of thousands more remain missing or unaccounted for, raising pressure on a cash-strapped government already struggling to house and feed those left homeless.
Rescuers said the first 72 hours after a quake are critical for finding people alive and freeing them from rubble. That deadline passed on Saturday, yet searches are continuing in shattered neighbourhoods where families keep vigil at piles of rubble. “We have to stay strong, even without food, without sleep,” Ana Rada said while watching civil defence workers look for her brother. “Until I see the body, I still have hope.”
Facing criticism that they have moved too slowly, officials have heavily promoted their response. Police and soldiers handed out cans of tuna and crackers to displaced residents in La Guaira while National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said electricity had been restored to 90 percent of the state and 15 temporary camps have been set up.
A magnitude 4.6 aftershock struck near Caraballeda on Monday, one of more than 600 tremors recorded since the initial magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes. No new damage was reported, but the shaking sent Caracas residents screaming into the streets.
“Here we are again, back in the street,” said Concepcion Hernandez, 51, after evacuating her apartment in the capital. “I don’t know when we’ll have a moment of true peace.”
A rescue worker carries a girl pulled from the rubble four days after two earthquakes struck the coastal state of La Guaira in less than one minute on June 24, 2026. [Pedro Mattey/AP Photo]Members of the French 7th Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment work at a destroyed building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state. [Miguel Medina/Pool/AFP]Relatives of a victim of the twin earthquakes mourn during a burial at the Southern General Cemetery in Caracas. [Rosali Hernandez/AFP]International and local rescue crews have been racing against time and focusing on the northern port city of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area of the country. [Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]Rescue workers and volunteers rest on the rubble of collapsed buildings in Caraballeda in La Guaira state as operations continue 24 hours a day. [Miguel Medina/Pool/Reuters]Thousands of rescue workers, relatives and volunteers dig day and night through debris and around slabs of concrete to find survivors of the earthquakes. [Mauricio Valenzuela/AFP]Children who lost their homes in the earthquakes rest on a pile of donated clothes on a street in La Guaira. [Gaby Oraa/Reuters]Devastating back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck near Venezuela’s Caribbean coast last week, collapsing buildings, damaging the country’s main airport and leaving more than 1,700 people dead and tens of thousands missing. [Miguel Medina/Pool/AFP]Collapsed buildings and debris are seen along the coast in Caraballeda in La Guaira state. [Yorman Maldonado/AFP]Officials believe tens of thousands of people are still missing as rescue efforts involving about 30,000 Venezuelan emergency workers and 2,700 foreign experts carry on. [Matias Delacroix/AP Photo]
