CARACAS — At least 1,719 people have died in Venezuela following twin earthquakes that struck the country's northern coast last week, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said Monday, as rescue teams continued searching for survivors believed to remain trapped under rubble.
Rodríguez said the tremors had affected more than 22,600 people, including 5,034 who were injured. Of more than 855 damaged buildings, 189 collapsed completely, he said. Since the initial quakes struck Wednesday evening, Venezuela has recorded 609 aftershocks, including one felt earlier Monday that caused no significant additional damage, according to Rodríguez.
The disaster was triggered by a magnitude 7.2 foreshock followed roughly 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 mainshock, both centered near Yumare in Yaracuy state, according to the United States Geological Survey. The mainshock was the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. The USGS has said there is a 44% probability the final death toll could reach 10,000 or more, based on its PAGER impact-modeling system.
The hardest-hit areas include La Guaira state and the capital, Caracas, where entire blocks of buildings were flattened. Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, declared La Guaira a disaster zone and ordered the militarization of the region to support relief operations. The main airport serving Caracas, Simón Bolívar International, sustained heavy damage, and a bridge connecting the La Guaira parish of Caraballeda to the rest of the state collapsed during a subsequent aftershock, further hampering rescue access.
Search teams have continued to report survivors pulled from the rubble more than a week after the quakes struck, including an infant and a woman who had been trapped for more than three days. International rescue units, including teams from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador and France, have joined Venezuelan personnel in the search effort.
A senior U.S. official confirmed Monday that three American citizens had died and 12 remained missing. Several other countries, including Portugal, Colombia, Spain and Argentina, have also reported citizens among the dead or missing.
The earthquakes have placed additional strain on Venezuela's healthcare system, with 13 hospitals reported damaged nationwide, according to National Assembly officials. The disaster comes as Venezuela continues to face an ongoing political and economic crisis.
Officials have not provided a timeline for when search operations are expected to conclude. Authorities said updated casualty figures would continue to be released as recovery efforts progress.
