WASHINGTON — NASA said it is reviewing satellite imagery to help assess the scale of destruction caused by last week's powerful earthquakes in Venezuela, with a preliminary analysis indicating that more than 58,000 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region.
The assessment, released on Tuesday as part of NASA's disaster response activities, is based on radar imagery collected on June 25, one day after twin earthquakes measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck northern Venezuela. NASA said the satellite data is supporting emergency teams by identifying areas that may have sustained the heaviest structural damage and helping guide response efforts.
The preliminary analysis was conducted by researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University using data from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 radar satellites. The researchers estimated that approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed but stressed that the findings represent a rapid assessment based on abrupt surface changes detected by satellite radar and have not been fully verified through inspections on the ground.
NASA said its satellites were providing "critical support, capturing imagery and data to help teams on the ground assess impacts and guide response efforts." The agency activated its disaster response coordination system following the earthquakes, which struck one of Venezuela's most densely populated coastal regions.
The satellite-based estimate is substantially higher than the official structural damage figures released by Venezuelan authorities. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said earlier this week that 855 buildings had been damaged, including 189 that had completely collapsed. Researchers cautioned that satellite-derived estimates are intended to prioritize response efforts and should not be interpreted as a final count of damaged structures.
The earthquakes, the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century according to multiple reports, caused widespread destruction along the country's central coast, including La Guaira and areas near Caracas. International rescue teams and humanitarian organizations have continued search-and-rescue operations while assessing urgent needs for shelter, medical care and essential services.
Separately, radar-based interferograms produced from Sentinel-1 observations showed measurable ground deformation associated with the earthquakes, providing scientists with additional information about movement along the affected fault system and helping improve understanding of the event's geological impacts.
NASA said satellite imagery and related analyses will continue to be shared with emergency managers and humanitarian organizations as response and damage assessment efforts progress.
