At least 589 people have died and nearly 3,000 have been injured after two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, the country’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has said.
Rodríguez, who lowered an earlier estimate of those hurt, said the toll was likely to rise, with thousands reported missing and more than 200 aftershocks recorded. Dozens of trapped people had been pulled out alive.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude 7.2 foreshock on June 24, followed 39 seconds later by a stronger 7.5 quake centred in the western state of Yaracuy. It was the country’s most powerful earthquake in more than a century.
The coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, was worst hit and has been placed under military control, with soldiers distributing food and water as rescuers search collapsed buildings.
The quakes struck during a national holiday, when many people were at home. Survivors slept in streets and squares, while the watchdog NetBlocks reported widespread internet outages.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, closing the damaged main airport serving Caracas and suspending schools, and urged medical staff to report for duty.
She announced an initial $200 million (€176 million) reconstruction fund, drawing on resources coordinated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Rodríguez took office in January after the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by United States forces, an administration whose legitimacy many Venezuelans reject.
The European Union said it had activated its Copernicus satellite mapping service and stood ready to step up support, European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said.
Rescue teams from Spain, Germany and Switzerland landed on June 26, some with sniffer dogs and ground-penetrating radar. The Netherlands sent a 60-strong urban search team and the Vatican gave €100,000.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain and President Emmanuel Macron of France expressed their solidarity, while Portugal confirmed that one of its nationals had been killed.
The United States said it was mounting a large-scale relief operation, with its Southern Command moving two Navy ships closer to Venezuela to support search teams and aid deliveries.
Opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado pressed for emergency aid to reach victims directly, without intermediaries.
The European Union is the largest humanitarian donor to Venezuela, having given more than €572 million since 2016, according to the European Commission.
The Commission has said 7.9 million people needed aid before the disaster, in a country where Venezuelans form the second-largest group of asylum seekers in the EU after Afghans.
