Venezuela earthquakes: Families search rubble as international aid gathers pace

Laguaira,UPDATED: Jun 27, 2026 00:10 IST

Venezuelans searched for missing relatives on their own on Friday after back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 920 people and injured more than 3,300, with many residents in the worst-hit areas saying they had seen few government rescue teams. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck late on Wednesday, and aid agencies said the first 48 to 72 hours were critical for finding survivors alive.

As the disaster entered its second day, the international relief effort gathered pace, with rescue teams from more than two dozen countries arriving or expected soon. Assembly president Jorge Rodrguez said, "Each person saved is a miracle," and added, "We are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy."

Across northern Venezuela, families searched through the ruins of homes and buildings for relatives and for whatever they could recover. In La Guaira state, just north of Caracas and among the areas worst affected, Nazareth Jimenez watched neighbours try to cut through concrete slabs with hammers and power tools at a collapsed building. "My god, how are we going to get them out of there?" she said. Waiting for news of her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends, she appealed for heavier equipment, saying, "We're making a call for help to governments of countries across the world." She added, "There are still people alive in there."

Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira as acting President Delcy Rodrguez said the government was "working tirelessly" to mount a full response. She welcomed rescuers and aid from around the world, said La Guaira had been militarised and that more help was on the way, even as residents said the assistance reaching them was only a fraction of what was needed. The disaster has created a major test for Rodrguez, who took office in January after the capture and removal of then-president Nicolas Maduro by the United States, at a time when Venezuela has already faced economic disarray for more than a decade and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement she represents. Authorities said by Friday afternoon that 243 people had been rescued, but the death toll was expected to rise, with thousands still reported missing.

The Organisation for Migration said up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the quakes, including about 2 million in Caracas alone. Loyce Pace, the Red Cross' regional director for the Americas, said "people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes". Across northern Venezuela, buildings were left as shells, with furniture hanging from windows and helicopters flying overhead. In Catia La Mar, next to the country's main airport, people crowded around a civilian pickup truck handing out bread and water before a soldier stepped in to let it leave, while others turned a pharmacy car park into a makeshift shelter with tarpaulins, hammocks and tents.

For many, the loss was devastating. Omar Reyes walked through the remains of what had been his home, calling out the names of his wife and children, but got no reply. About 20 of his relatives have died, and two of his four children remain under the debris. "I've been left alone in this life," he said quietly.

Venezuelan authorities said 861 international volunteers from Mexico, the US, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and other countries were working in the country on Friday, and many more were expected in the coming hours and days. The UN said 1,000 emergency responders in 25 search-and-rescue teams from across the world were on their way. On the main highway, convoys of state forces, emergency personnel, dump trucks and heavy machinery headed towards the affected areas, while a pickup truck carrying thin mattresses had "Help from Trujillo" written on its windows. The government said emergency services had been diverted to La Guaira. Firefighters from Tchira state, on the border with Colombia, were among those being sent there. Firefighting General Antonio Briceno said 45 firefighters and a trained dog named Rescue were expected to reach the affected sites in the coming days. "We are bringing shovels, picks, hydraulic tools, drinking water, which are needed at the site," Briceno said. On Thursday night, the US Treasury said sanctions would be waived until October 23 for transactions linked to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be banned.

There were also moments of hope. Media reports showed a young man being carried out on a stretcher in Caracas' San Bernardino district to applause, as his mother cried, "Leandro, I love you." Venezuelan television also broadcast footage of a girl covered in dust and wrapped in a sweatshirt as rescuers pulled her from the rubble. Caracas metropolitan rescue team head Jose Luis Nunez said she had been found in a 10-storey building in La Guaira that collapsed and flattened "like a pancake". He said, "We want to highlight this girl's strength, determination and will to live."

The US Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centred near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas. Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil, said the scale of the destruction was made worse by the one-two punch of the two quakes and their shallow seismic movements. Nearly two days after the disaster, families were still digging through rubble, survivors were still sleeping in the open, and rescue teams from Venezuela and abroad were racing against time to find more people alive.

With PTI Inputs

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