Venezuela earthquake death toll passes 1,700 as UN continues to scale up response

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Five days after powerful earthquakes struck central-northern Venezuela, the death toll continues to climb along with the intense rescue operation and the UN coordinates humanitarian assistance, warning that recovery “is going to take time.”

Venezuelan authorities confirmed on Monday that at least 1,719 people have died following the earthquakes of 24 June, with some 5,000 more injured. Around 12,000 people have been displaced, and officials have yet to confirm a figure for the missing.

Survivors still emerging

In a press briefing for correspondents in New York, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Venezuela, Gianluca Rampolla, said that seven people were pulled alive from the rubble on Sunday as search efforts continue. 

He also reported that the UN and Venezuelan authorities had agreed to procure 10,000 body bags in anticipation of the death toll rising further.

Seven states have been affected, but the greatest concentration of casualties is in La Guaira state and the Distrito Capital of Caracas. Around 2,500 structures were damaged, many of which have collapsed entirely.

Conditions on the ground remain hazardous. Approximately 500 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.2 tremor in the early hours of Monday morning, while a tropical wave is threatening to bring heavy rains to affected areas.

“We continue to operate in a high-risk environment,” Mr. Rampolla said.

Over 2,000 rescuers on the ground

More than 2,000 rescue workers from 27 countries – along with over 160 search dogs – are currently deployed across more than 40 teams. 

Although search and rescue operations typically focus on the first 72 hours, teams have extended their work after continuing to receive signs of life from beneath the rubble and locating survivors beyond that window.

“Together with the search and rescue operations, we are focusing, together with the Government, on providing emergency healthcare, shelter, food assistance, water and sanitation, and logistical support to ensure not only the storage but also the distribution of all the supplies arriving in the country, as well as protection,” Mr. Rampolla said, adding that the UN is working on a new emergency appeal to supplement its existing humanitarian plan.

‘There are people who need a hug’

The UN is preparing three assistance centres in La Guaira for families who have lost their homes, offering medical care, food, water, sanitation, protection and psychosocial support.

Vanessa May, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Venezuela, told UN News that many people had lost all sense of stability. “Moving from having a house, from having a home, to being in a shelter or temporary accommodation is not going to be easy,” she said.

Ms. May stressed that emotional support would be as essential as food, water or medical care. “There are people who need a hug,” she said, describing families waiting for news of loved ones, and others who already know their relatives remain buried under the debris.

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‘This is going to take time’

Once search operations conclude, the UN and its partners will carry out rapid assessments to identify needs, including those of older people and persons with disabilities. 

Debris removal and early recovery will follow, with particular attention to damage to schools and hospitals.

Ms. May said the reconstruction phase would require working with authorities to determine where displaced families can be resettled and conducting soil surveys before any relocation. “This is going to take time,” she said.

She attributed the speed of the initial UN response to the humanitarian architecture established in Venezuela since 2019, which brought together UN agencies, national and international NGOs, the Red Cross and other actors. Coordinating the surge in public donations – with many individuals and organisations arriving spontaneously at affected areas – has been among the key logistical challenges.

“Don’t let that solidarity stop,” Ms. May said, urging that attention on Venezuela be sustained well beyond the initial weeks of disaster recovery.