Venezuela Earthquake Disaster Leaves Nearly 2,000 Dead as Survivors Struggle for Food and Shelter]

Venezuela Earthquake Disaster Leaves Nearly 2,000 Dead as Survivors Struggle for Food and Shelter]

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela: Tens of thousands of people across Venezuela begged for food and shelter on Tuesday as the death toll from twin earthquakes approached 2,000, though rescue teams achieved a miraculous survival after pulling a 3-year-old boy from the rubble six days following the devastating quakes.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes—among the worst natural disasters in Latin American history—flattened entire residential complexes, left more than 10,000 injured and spawned frantic rescue operations as teams searched for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Hopes dimmed for additional rescues as the critical 72-hour survival window closed, yet on the sixth day, a Jordanian civil defense team extracted the young boy from a Caracas home wreckage. Video footage showed rescue workers celebrating the discovery, with the child showing stable vital signs, according to Jordanian civil defense officials.

Six days after the disaster, the UN refugee agency reported widespread food shortages, collapsed basic services and severed communications in La Guaira, the hardest-hit area north of Caracas.

“They distribute supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food—it’s like a cockfight,” said Daniela Armas, 18, a La Guaira vendor who was injured when she fell from her motorcycle during the quakes.

Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez confirmed the death toll had reached 1,943 with over 10,500 injured, while nearly 6,500 people had been rescued from La Guaira’s rubble—though the actual number may reach 20,000 when accounting for those freed by family members or escapees.

Many Venezuelans voiced anger over the government’s sluggish disaster response in a nation already crippled by decades of economic crisis that has undermined infrastructure and healthcare systems.

The UN estimates the quakes have affected roughly 7 million people and inflicted economic damage of $6.7 billion—equivalent to 6% of Venezuela’s GDP. Preliminary NASA satellite assessments indicate the disasters damaged or destroyed approximately 58,870 buildings.

Dozen of countries, including the United States and Mexico, deployed nearly 40 specialized search-and-rescue teams comprising over 2,000 personnel and 160 dogs, coordinated by UN official Gianluca Rampolla.

While international teams wielded advanced equipment, Venezuelans grieved by recovering bodies they could locate. Rosanna Luna searched desperately for her sister Soraida, saying, “It’s harder not knowing because you ask yourself, ‘What do I do? Where do I look for her?'”

AFP journalists documented black body bags containing quake victims lined up outside a makeshift morgue at La Guaira’s port, where survivors gathered for news or to identify remains. Darvin Silva, 37, described extracting his mother from collapsed building debris using bare hands, sledgehammers and pickaxes.

“The effort it took me to get her out of there with my bare hands, with sledgehammers, with pickaxes—you can’t even begin to imagine,” Silva said. “I hope that I can now offer her the rest she deserves.”

The UN reports approximately 50,000 people remain missing, while Venezuela’s only public cemetery operates its two crematory ovens at maximum capacity to process the dead.

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