Rescue teams search La Guaira after deadly twin earthquakes in Venezuela

In La Guaira, people were still clawing through debris by hand nearly 24 hours after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, June 24, 2026. The port city, declared a disaster zone and state of emergency by authorities, became the center of a widening search as medical crews and emergency workers dug beside residents with their hands and with only limited heavy equipment.

The United States Geological Survey put the quakes at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, with epicenters in Yaracuy state, west of Caracas. In the first hours after the shaking, hundreds of people were trapped under rubble and many more remained unaccounted for as teams tried to reach collapsed buildings and damaged neighborhoods around the capital and along the Caribbean coast.

On June 25, officials cited at least 164 dead and 971 injured. Later government figures put the count at 920 dead and more than 3,300 injured, while 172 people were still trapped as rescue operations continued. Foreign rescue teams and aid were beginning to reach the devastated areas nearly two days after the earthquakes.

Injured residents were treated in vehicles and field hospitals as workers moved through broken concrete and twisted steel. Entire blocks of homes were still standing but badly damaged, making searches difficult because unstable structures could fail at any moment.

Widespread damage hit Caracas and surrounding areas, leaving thousands homeless and complicating the emergency response across a broad stretch of the country. The mainshock was the strongest earthquake in Venezuela since the 1900 San Narciso quake.