People walk past buildings that collapsed during the earthquake in Caracas on June 25, 2026. Powerful twin earthquakes killed 32 people and injured more than 700, the interim president announced on June 25, after the powerful impact caused entire buildings to collapse and people to panic.
Manaure Quintero | AFP | Getty Images
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday that the death toll from twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela has reached 2,595, an increase of 300 from the previous day as rescue efforts continue for more than a week after the country’s strongest tremors in more than 100 years.
In his first press conference since taking power in January after the U.S. military operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro, Rodriguez said the government was not yet finished with its search and rescue operations.
Rodriguez said more than 12,000 people were injured, but did not say how many were missing. About 38,500 people remain missing, according to an unofficial list widely circulated online, down from nearly 60,000 immediately after the quake.
Seconds after the magnitude 7.2 quake, a magnitude 7.5 mainshock struck last Wednesday, making it the strongest shaking to hit Venezuela since 1900. The quake destroyed buildings in the worst-hit coastal states of Caracas and La Guaira, and severely damaged the Simón Bolívar International Airport, the capital’s main gateway.
Rodriguez said nearly all La Guaira city officials died in the disaster.
Officials said nearly 800 buildings were destroyed, 189 of which were completely destroyed. A preliminary satellite analysis released by NASA and Oregon State University researchers and updated Monday estimates that about 58,870 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations Development Program estimates direct physical damage at $6.7 billion, about 6% of gross domestic product, while risk modeler Verisk estimates total economic losses at more than $10 billion.
The government said delays at oil terminals due to the quake were minor and exports remained largely stable after the quake. Authorities were also inspecting state-run PDVSA’s Catia La Mar fuel terminal for damage, in one of the worst-hit areas.
The United States has launched its largest disaster response in years, sending four search and rescue teams with more than 900 people to Venezuela and about 800 more to Caribbean strongholds Puerto Rico and Curaçao, according to Reuters. The Trump administration also pledged to mobilize $150 million for humanitarian aid.
The disaster prompted a call for aid from countries around the world, including Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Cuba and Switzerland, coordinated by the United Nations.
The Venezuelan government has rejected criticism that it was too slow to respond to the earthquake’s destruction. Rodriguez told a news conference that the government had issued an emergency decree within hours of the earthquake, activating civil protection and emergency protocols.
