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Venezuelan authorities announced that the death toll from the country’s devastating twin earthquakes has risen to 4,490 and left 16,740 others injured.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez confirmed the mounting casualties on Sunday via his Twitter account.
Rodriguez also announced that emergency crews have successfully rescued 6,462 survivors from the debris.
The devastating seismic activity has left 17,907 people homeless, forcing displaced families into makeshift camps set up across public plazas and stadiums.
Atención: pic.twitter.com/J0DcHsldyV
— Jorge Rodríguez (@jorgerpsuv) July 12, 2026
The humanitarian crisis follows the strongest recorded seismic event to hit Venezuela in more than 125 years.
On June 24, 2026, two powerful earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela just 40 seconds apart.
A magnitude 7.2 foreshock triggered initial panic, which a massive magnitude 7.5 main shock immediately followed.
The shallow, violent shaking severely damaged or completely collapsed hundreds of buildings, flattening high-rise apartment blocks in the capital city of Caracas and the vulnerable coastal state of La Guaira.
The disaster has severely overwhelmed a country already struggling with a prolonged economic crisis that has weakened local public services and emergency response infrastructure.
In response to the widespread destruction, the United Nations launched an urgent $300 million appeal to fund international relief operations and aid the estimated 1.3 million people affected.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim government continues to lobby international bodies to release state assets frozen overseas under foreign sanctions to help finance the massive rebuilding effort.
