Victims of the two catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela since late June officially exceeded 6000 people, reaching 6,125 confirmed deaths.
The grim statistics were officially announced by the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, in a statement carried by world agencies in the early hours of August 4, 2026. The data reflects a sharp increase in deaths of 579 people compared to the previous government report, after authorities resumed updates after a 10-day hiatus.
Epicenter of the tragedy and scale of destruction
The tragedy began on June 24, 2026, when the country was shaken successively within 30 seconds by two extremely strong shaking with magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richterscale. The worst affected are the national capital Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, where, according to international observers, nearly 80% of the buildings have collapsed or been seriously damaged.
The official government balance sheet indicates the following scale of the disaster:
Died: 6125 people Injured, passed through hospitals: 60,992 citizens Successfully rescued from the debris: 6462 people Unknown fate: According to UN and independent experts, between 1,400 and 10,000 people are still missing.
Shelter crisis and humanitarian tension
So far, the clearance of debris has been extremely slow, with engineering teams managing to remove only 16.5% of the collapsed material generated. More than 40,000 residential buildings have been assessed, with over 6,400 of them declared "high-risk" and nearly 10,000 with restricted access. This has left nearly 24,000 Venezuelans in makeshift camps set up in stadiums, squares and along the roads.
The office of interim President Delcy Rodriguez has come under heavy internal criticism for the military's delayed response in the early hours of the rescue operations. In response, the government has passed emergency legislative changes to make it easier to rent properties and has promised to build thousands of new homes by the end of the year.
Financial damages of nearly $20 billion
The economic impact on the already fragile country has been devastating. An official World Bank report estimated the direct physical damage to infrastructure and buildings at nearly $19.6 billion. Almost half of this amount (47%) is due to the destroyed apartment blocks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already released $346 million in emergency aid, but Venezuela's recovery remains blocked by ongoing US economic sanctions, which aid agencies are calling for to be eased to ensure easier cash flow.