Venezuela earthquakes: Death toll jumps to 164, 971 injured

Venezuela's back-to-back earthquakes have left at least 164 people dead and injured 971, says the country's acting President Delcy Rodriguez. Twin earthquakes have left dozens of buildings collapsed or heavily damaged in La Guaira state. According to agency report the coastal city of Catia La Mar was without electricity, and many residents were spending the night in the streets or searching for people among the rubble. Rodriguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday, saying the quakes caused damage in several states. She asked health care professionals to report to hospitals to assist the injured. Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone coverage, and the earthquakes damaged and closed Simon Bolivar International Airport, the country's main airport, Rodriguez said. The United Nations's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela has said that the country must "immediately" unblock access to social media and news outlets, amid a "life and death" scramble for information. They urged authorities to allow human rights to "guide all aspects of the national and international response to this immense tragedy.

The @UN Fact-Finding Mission on #Venezuela stands with Venezuelans after today's devastating #earthquakes. In these critical hours, access to information is life or death: CONATEL must immediately unblock all media and social networks.

More https://t.co/vsoICr2kHz pic.twitter.com/7NYHsMt1M2

— UN Human Rights Council Investigative Bodies (@uninvhrc) June 25, 2026

The quakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) from Venezuela's capital, Caracas. The last time Venezuela was hit by a more powerful tremor was October 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit offshore "causing extensive damage to churches, public buildings and homes in the city", USGS said.
US Secretary of State Rubio said in a post on X on Thursday that the United States is "immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela." Ecuador ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid, and Rodriguez said Qatar, Mexico and El Salvador had already sent rescue personnel.