Venezuela quakes kill almost 1,500, with millions more in need
ONP Summary
Twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, killing approximately 1,400 to 1,500 people and leaving up to 50,000 missing, with 1.8 million others requiring humanitarian assistance for basic needs. Rescue operations continued several days after the initial seismic events, though the window for locating survivors intact had substantially narrowed. International aid mobilized while local government officials faced mounting criticism over the coordination and adequacy of disaster response efforts.
Progressive: Progressive-leaning outlets emphasize the geopolitical context, highlighting Venezuela's status under a US-backed interim leadership while noting that international humanitarian aid flows remain inadequate relative to the scale of devastation and public anger over response delays.
Moderate: Moderate outlets focus on the humanitarian dimensions and logistical challenges, reporting casualty statistics from official sources, Unicef estimates of affected populations, and documenting both rescue operations and accountability questions regarding crisis coordination.
Conservative: Conservative-leaning outlets stress the crisis severity and urgency, often emphasizing the stark gap between confirmed deaths (nearly 1,500) and missing persons (50,000+), with headlines suggesting rescuers fear the true casualty count is far higher and that rescue windows have effectively closed.
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The death toll in Venezuela’s twin earthquake disaster reached 1,430 on Saturday, with millions more feared to lack sanitation and other basic needs as the first US aid flights trickled into Caracas.
Facing public outrage at the response by local officials, US-backed interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez said the country was “not alone”.
The United States said one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport was now functioning and that C-17 US military planes were landing there, while a naval ship had arrived off the coast.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said search-and-rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to help find survivors.
But the search for survivors saw desperate attempts by local residents to claw away rubble from apartment buildings that collapsed in Wednesday’s double-quakes. Experts say the first 72 hours after natural disasters are the key, narrow window for finding the living.
There was joy in the hardest-hit coastal area of La Guaira, north of Caracas, when locals pulled an infant alive out of the wreckage on Friday, some 32 hours after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tremors.
Earlier today, the Venezuelan government said that 1,600 members of foreign rescue teams had arrived to help search for survivors of the devastating twin earthquakes.
Residents and volunteers in La Guaira, a popular destination for beachgoers where at least 100 buildings, many residential high-rises, were destroyed or damaged, have for days decried shortages of heavy equipment and a limited official presence.
Rodriguez said in an overnight address on state television that 10 more countries were still to join rescue efforts and 14,000 military and police members were in La Guaira to patrol and take sanitary measures.
“In recent hours, Venezuela has received 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 members of rescue teams, and over the next 24 hours, the arrival of 25 additional flights is expected,” said foreign ministry official Oliver Blanco.
“We thank the international community for its support and solidarity during these moments of uncertainty for Venezuelans,” Blanco added on X in the early hours of Saturday.
Rescuers have been making their way to sites around La Guaira state and Venezuela’s capital Caracas, although on Friday some areas were still largely without an official presence as families and neighbours struggled to find missing loved ones in the rubble, sometimes digging with their hands.
Officials closed the road between La Guaira and nearby Caracas on Friday evening, saying heavy traffic was preventing quick passage of emergency vehicles and official rescuers.
Civilians who are not part of official rescue teams will need a credential to pass the roadblock and Reuters witnesses were prevented from using the main road on Saturday morning by police, while an older secondary road was choked with traffic.
The government had previously thanked civilians who brought aid, often by motorcycle, to desperate residents. Venezuelan state television showed images of thousands of pairs of shoes, clothing and other aid being collected by the government.
While the power remained out near the quakes’ epicentre in Moron on Friday, as well as fully down in La Guaira, it was being restored in other places, with Rodriguez saying that 60 per cent of electricity had now been restored.
Venezuela’s power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.
54,000 missing
Although the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 54,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s opposition.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America’s deadliest of the last century.
Nearly 7 million people could be affected, the UN said, estimating direct damage at about $6.7 billion.
The disaster could have political consequences for Rodriguez, who has tried to portray herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the US in January.
Rodriguez spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday after meeting with the US military’s Northern Command and disaster experts.
The US said it was mobilising $150m in aid and easing sanctions, while its military dispatched two ships and said helicopters and aircraft would support rescue efforts.
Among the rescue teams working in La Guaira are a team from El Salvador, whose President Nayib Bukele has hailed multiple rescues on his X account, including that of a 15-year-old girl.
Looting has taken place at several sites in La Guaira, Reuters witnesses said.
Venezuela’s oil production was not affected by the quakes, Oil Minister Paula Henao said on Friday, adding that fuel distribution would be guaranteed. Oil executives and workers said the sector had avoided major infrastructure damage. ...