The true destruction of Venezuela’s twin earthquakes may take weeks or months to uncover. The disasters have killed at least 164 people and injured 971 confirmed so far, but the true toll could be as more than 100,000 lives lost.
The disaster struck Wednesday evening when a magnitude 7.2 quake hit roughly 100 miles west of Caracas, followed just 39 seconds later by a far more destructive magnitude 7.5 earthquake — the strongest earthquake to hit Venezuela in more than a century.
The coastal state of La Guaira, home to the country’s main airport, was hit hardest and has been declared a disaster zone. Dozens of buildings collapsed there alone. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez warned that current figures exclude much of that region’s casualties.
President Donald Trump called the quakes “massive in scale” with “a devastating number of deaths” and pledged immediate U.S. aid.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the American response would be “big, fast, and effective,” with search-and-rescue teams already deployed.
Caracas’s airport, metro, and schools remain shut. Take a look at some of the devastation —
A staggering 100,000 people are presumed dead after one of the deadliest earthquakes of the century struck Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, Wednesday. https://t.co/cyNd1Kyky9 pic.twitter.com/Lbs2aNk5sH
— California Post (@californiapost) June 25, 2026
Incredible video of a man running out of his apartment building. The rubble gets increasingly intense the further down he goes. pic.twitter.com/3d3tUCJZGl https://t.co/pNpOlurKpG
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) June 25, 2026
WATCH: Moment Strong Earthquake Shakes During Baseball Game in Caracas, Venezuela pic.twitter.com/9CZm75hhOA
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 24, 2026