Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes have claimed at least 1,430 lives, marking a dramatic rise in the death toll as emergency teams continue searching through mountains of rubble in one of the country’s worst natural disasters in modern history.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced the updated toll on state television, revealing that more than 3,200 people have been injured while at least 3,100 residents have been left homeless following the powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Venezuela earlier this week.
The latest figures represent a 55 percent increase from the previously reported death toll of 920, raising fears that the number of fatalities could continue to climb as thousands remain missing.
The United Nations warned that the humanitarian impact of the disaster could be enormous, with the International Organization for Migration estimating that nearly 6.76 million people may have been affected across Venezuela, including up to two million residents in the capital Caracas alone.
The agency described the situation as a potentially vast humanitarian emergency and appealed for urgent international assistance, stressing the immediate need for emergency shelters, clean water, sanitation services, and medical care.
Rescue efforts intensified across the hardest-hit regions, particularly in the coastal state of La Guaira and parts of Caracas, where collapsed buildings and damaged infrastructure have complicated operations.
In a rare moment of hope amid the tragedy, rescuers pulled an 18-day-old baby alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira nearly 32 hours after the earthquakes struck. Video footage circulating on social media showed rescue workers carefully passing the infant through debris to safety as onlookers applauded.
Reports indicated that the child was found uninjured, while the mother was rescued separately about an hour later and transferred to hospital for treatment.
International rescue teams have continued arriving in Venezuela to support local emergency services. Venezuelan officials said more than 1,600 rescue personnel from multiple countries, including Mexico, Spain, Colombia and the United States, have already arrived aboard at least 17 relief flights.
The United Nations confirmed the deployment of 35 specialized search-and-rescue teams, including more than 100 trained rescue dogs, to assist in locating survivors trapped beneath collapsed structures.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the first 48 to 72 hours following such disasters are critical for saving lives, though survivors can sometimes remain alive longer if they have access to water or air pockets beneath the debris.
He acknowledged that rescue operations are being severely challenged by the scale of destruction and ongoing seismic instability in the affected areas.
Authorities have also tightened access to La Guaira, one of the regions worst affected by the twin quakes. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced restrictions on travel into the state, saying only authorized personnel and registered responders would be permitted entry.
The government’s handling of the disaster has also sparked public frustration. During a visit to a collapsed building site in Caracas, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez faced angry protests from residents and relatives of missing victims, who accused authorities of failing to respond quickly enough to the unfolding catastrophe.
The two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck within minutes of each other on Wednesday night and are considered among the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela in more than a century, dw.com reports.
