Venezuela Earthquakes Claim Almost 4,000 Lives in Devastating Double Disaster

Damaged houses in a social housing neighbourhood in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, are seen on July 9, 2026, after the June 24 twin earthquakes, with the United Nations having launched an urgent appeal on July 8, 2026, for nearly $300 million towards Venezuela earthquake relief operations as the death toll rose to more than 3,800 people.

n

A government report published on Thursday stated that the death toll from the powerful twin tremors has risen to at least 3,889, with nearly 17,000 people injured in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24.

n

Almost 18,000 more people lost their homes in the disaster, according to the same report, which was posted on Telegram by National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez, showing an increase in the death toll from 3,811 to 3,889 on Thursday.

n

Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez called for the release of Venezuelan funds frozen abroad on Wednesday to help the country cope with the disaster, as the United Nations tries to raise some $300 million in recovery funds for Venezuela.

n

Venezuela is also negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unblock its financial assets, according to IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack, in an effort to secure more funds for relief efforts.

n

In the hardest-hit coastal area of La Guaira, over 800 buildings sustained damage, while 190 collapsed entirely, leaving many families without homes and struggling to come to terms with their losses.

n

Rescue teams were abandoning the search for survivors a fortnight after the disaster struck, but some families had not given up hope of finding their loved ones, with Ciro Ocando believing he has located the spot where his teenage sons are buried under mountains of rubble in Playa Grande in the city of La Guaira.

n

Ocando, who has accepted that his sons' chances of survival are non-existent at this stage, just wants to find the bodies of his boys aged 13 and 18, and is using his own tools to dig through the debris, saying “I’m in the right place, but there are a lot of obstacles,” in an interview with AFP.