Caracas, June 30 (SANA) The death toll from last week’s twin earthquakes in northern Venezuela has risen to 1,719, while thousands remain missing and satellite analysis suggests tens of thousands of homes may have been damaged or destroyed.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said at least 1,719 people have been killed, with around 50,000 people still unaccounted for. He added that 774 buildings were damaged, including 189 that collapsed completely.
Separately, researchers supported by NASA estimated that approximately 58,870 residential buildings may have been damaged or destroyed. The rapid assessment, conducted by researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University, is based on radar imagery collected on June 25 by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite.
The researchers stressed that the findings are preliminary and detect sudden ground-surface changes consistent with earthquake damage but have not yet been verified through field inspections.
The twin earthquakes, measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, caused extensive destruction, particularly in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit regions. Residents have criticized what they describe as a slow government response to rescue operations.
International relief efforts are continuing, with 24 countries sending 521 tons of humanitarian aid, 86 search-and-rescue teams with trained dogs, and more than 2,700 rescue workers, including a Syrian international rescue team deployed in coordination with Qatar’s Internal Security Force rescue unit.
The United Nations has warned that the death toll is likely to rise. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that up to 6.76 million people may have been affected and require emergency shelter, clean water, healthcare and other essential humanitarian assistance.
The earthquakes—the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century—hit as the country continues to grapple with a prolonged economic crisis that has weakened infrastructure and public services.
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