Caracas, June 25, 2026: The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes has risen to at least 164, while 971 people have been injured, interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday, as rescue teams continued searching through collapsed buildings for survivors.
The powerful earthquakes struck on Wednesday evening, with a magnitude 7.2 quake hitting approximately 160 kilometres west of Caracas at around 6 p.m. local time. Less than a minute later, a second and even stronger magnitude 7.5 tremor rattled the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquakes, the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, caused widespread destruction across the capital and surrounding regions, reducing buildings to rubble, damaging critical infrastructure and prompting a nationwide emergency response.
Rodriguez described the coastal state of La Guaira, near Caracas, as the hardest-hit area. Authorities have recorded around 30 aftershocks since the initial quakes, raising concerns about further structural damage and hampering rescue operations.
Earlier, the interim president declared a state of emergency as rescue workers, police, firefighters and military personnel were mobilized across affected regions. Venezuela’s main international airport was temporarily closed while authorities assessed damage to facilities and runways.
“High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS said in an initial assessment, warning that the earthquakes had the potential to cause catastrophic losses.
According to seismologists, the magnitude 7.5 quake was Venezuela’s most powerful earthquake since October 1900, when a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck offshore.
Throughout Caracas, residents fled buildings as violent shaking cracked walls, toppled facades and triggered structural collapses. AFP reporters observed flattened residential blocks, large fissures in surviving buildings and rescue workers pulling victims from beneath debris.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said emergency services had been fully activated.
“We have buildings, homes and houses which have collapsed and we are taking care of things with everything we have available in terms of security and civil assistance,” he told state television.
Video footage broadcast by local media showed emergency personnel climbing through the remains of collapsed structures as anxious relatives gathered nearby, hoping for news of missing loved ones.
In the eastern Caracas municipality of Chacao, Mayor Gustavo Duque confirmed that at least two buildings had collapsed. He reported multiple injuries and fatalities, though he did not provide an updated death toll.
“We’re going to do everything we can to rescue the most people possible,” Duque said.
The earthquakes struck during a public holiday commemorating the 1821 Battle of Carabobo, a key event in Venezuela’s independence from Spain, meaning many residents were at home when the disaster occurred.
“As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming,” said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist in western Caracas. “Everyone was running down the stairs.”
Residents across the capital described scenes of panic and confusion as buildings swayed violently.
“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said
Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner, said the earthquake was even more terrifying than the deadly 1967 Caracas earthquake.
“This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.
The disaster has prompted an international response. The United States Embassy in Caracas said it was closely monitoring developments and advised American citizens to avoid damaged areas and seek safe shelter.
US President Donald Trump expressed condolences to the victims and offered assistance.
“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help,” Trump said in a statement, adding that federal agencies had been instructed to prepare emergency support for Venezuela.
The Netherlands also announced a two-million-euro emergency assistance package and the deployment of a search-and-rescue team equipped with specialist personnel, rescue dogs and emergency equipment.
Hospitals across Caracas have been overwhelmed by the influx of injured victims. Staff at the Hospital de Clinicas were instructed to increase overnight staffing levels to cope with the emergency. Videos from the facility showed damaged ceilings, hanging panels and debris scattered throughout hospital corridors.
Authorities have suspended classes and public events in several municipalities through Monday as engineers inspect buildings and assess structural damage.
Following the earthquakes, the US Tsunami Warning System briefly issued tsunami alerts for Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands, while cautioning that hazardous waves could affect Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The warning was later lifted after further analysis.
Venezuela lies along a seismically active boundary where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate, making it vulnerable to major earthquakes. The country experienced one of its deadliest natural disasters in 1812, when a powerful earthquake reportedly killed around 30,000 people in Caracas and Mérida.
Rescue efforts remain ongoing as authorities fear the casualty count could continue to rise in the coming days.
