Published On 7/8/2026
The Speaker of Parliament in Venezuela said that the confirmed death toll from the two earthquakes that struck the country last month had risen to 3,685 people as of Tuesday.
A government statement in Venezuela indicated that 16,740 people were injured, and the authorities avoided talking about the missing, but the United Nations estimates that their number may reach 50,000, while other estimates indicate about 10,000 missing.
Many international rescue teams have already left the country, and other teams are still continuing their work, along with volunteers who continue to search among the rubble. Relatives of the missing also called on the authorities to continue rescue operations until they are found – whether alive or dead – so that they can be buried.
On June 24, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale struck Venezuela just seconds apart, followed by more than a thousand weaker aftershocks. The disaster led to the collapse of many buildings, especially in the coastal state of La Guaira, located 30 kilometers north of the capital, Caracas.
Experts confirm that the chances of finding survivors two weeks after the earthquake are very slim.
Open the airport
Acting President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, said yesterday, Tuesday, that Simón Bolívar International Airport in La Guaira – which was damaged in the two successive earthquakes – will be restored as soon as possible with the use of an alternative runway.
Part of the airport was opened to receive aid aircraft. “I ordered the immediate activation of an alternative plan to allow commercial flights to resume as soon as possible using the runway parallel to the airport,” Rodriguez said in a post on her Telegram account.
The two earthquakes – among the worst seismic disasters in Latin America – left thousands of people homeless, and thousands more are still missing.
American pilots and military experts are providing support to efforts to reopen the airport and repair the damaged port of La Guaira, in order to facilitate the delivery of supplies and equipment.
