Venezuela earthquakes kill 235, injure thousands

2 min readUpdated June 26, 2026

A pair of powerful earthquakes that hit Venezuela's coastline in rapid succession have left at least 235 people dead and more than 4,300 injured, BBC News reported. The death toll is expected to climb as rescue crews continue searching through rubble.

At approximately 6:04 p.m. local time, the first shock — a magnitude 7.2 — originated near San Felipe in Yaracuy state, with a larger 7.5 magnitude event arriving about 40 seconds afterward, CNN reported. According to the USGS, the event fit the definition of a seismic "doublet," an uncommon occurrence in which two earthquakes of comparable magnitude occur nearly simultaneously. The 7.5 quake was the most powerful to hit Venezuela since 1900, according to BBC News.

Verizon is selling 274 stores and slashing about 3,000 jobs in its latest round of cuts

Washington committed $150 million in earthquake relief, with the State Department announcing that $100 million would flow to a UN humanitarian fund and another $50 million would go to organizations with an existing presence in Venezuela, CNN reported. Among the military assets mobilized, U.S. Southern Command moved the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings into position off Venezuela's coast and dispatched transport aircraft and helicopters to support relief operations. Urban search and rescue units from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County confirmed their deployment, with the Fairfax team fielding 80 rescuers and six dogs and the Los Angeles contingent comprising 71 personnel and six dogs, ABC News reported.

Rubio noted that damage to the airport had forced the Pentagon to reposition assets accordingly, and said the U.S. was supplying overhead imagery to help gauge the extent of destruction along the coast where ground-level assessments remained limited, according to ABC News.

Multiple countries announced assistance, including Mexico, El Salvador, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Qatar, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, according to CNN. UNICEF warned that roughly 3.9 million children live in affected areas and face injury, displacement, and disruptions to healthcare and education.

Even before the earthquakes struck, roughly 7.9 million Venezuelans required humanitarian aid, Oxfam said, as reported by The Guardian — meaning conditions for millions have likely worsened further.

Update, June 26, 2026: The death toll from the earthquakes has risen to nearly 600, according to updated reports. At least 250 buildings were damaged in the disaster. (per The New York Times)

Venezuela quakes leave 235 dead, over 4,300 wounded

Related Content

Related Content