Satellite images show Venezuelan earthquakes wiped out entire towns

Satellite images reveal extent of Venezuela's earthquake devastation Thu 2 Jul 2026 at 5:14am In short: Satellite imagery has revealed how many buildings have been flattened by Venezuela's devastating earthquakes. Tens of thousands of buildings appear likely to have been destroyed or partially damaged, according to preliminary NASA data. What's next? While the official death toll from the disaster has risen to almost 2,300, the UN expects it could increase above 10,000. Venezuela's two devastating earthquakes flattened buildings and coated parts of the nation's northern coastline in layers of dust and debris, satellite imagery reveals. Areas north of the capital Caracas were hit by the magnitude-7.2 and 7.5 tremors within less than a minute of each other on June 24 in one of Latin America's worst-ever earthquake disasters. In the worst-hit zones around the port regions of La Guaira and Caraballeda hundreds of buildings were toppled and thousands of people trapped underneath mountains of debris. On Tuesday, local time, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, told reporters the latest government count of damaged buildings had risen to at least 855 and another 189 had collapsed. The figures differ from the number of damaged and collapsed buildings published by space agency NASA which estimated the quakes had likely damaged or destroyed 58,870 buildings according to a preliminary assessment of satellite data. Before: Before: Along the coast in La Guaira the shake damage can be seen from space.. . After: After: In some residential stretches not a single building remains standing.. . Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition Mr Rodriguez said the government believed more than 30,000 people were located in the worst-impacted areas when the two quakes hit, with some 13,400 successfully fleeing the area as the disaster unfolded. He also confirmed on Wednesday, local time, that the death toll from the two earthquakes had risen to at least 2,295, with more than 11,000 injured. Before: Before: In other areas of La Guaira satellite imagery shows some homes were reduced to holes in the ground.. . After: After: Buildings close to the main road appear flattened while dust covers streets.. . Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition At least 6,400 people have been rescued in the six days following the earthquakes, including 5,380 saved in the first two days of Venezuela's emergency response to the disaster, Mr Rodriguez said. Those figures dropped significantly in the following days, with just 1,081 additional people rescued from impact sites between June 27 and June 30. "We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble," he said. Before: Before: Further east along the coastline the city of Caraballeda was also significantly impacted.. . After: After: In that city, high-rise buildings and outdoor pools can be seen entirely destroyed.. . Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition Mr Rodriguez also told journalists that Venezuelan authorities had recorded at least 782 aftershocks across the country since the first two earthquakes struck. According to the government the earthquakes damaged or otherwise compromised 38 hospitals nationwide. The World Health Organization said it had so far evaluated 21 of those facilities, three of which were no longer operating. Another six sustained damage and the rest were buckling under the influx of injuries. Before: Before: The small town of Macuto, between La Guaira and Caraballeda, appeared to have significant damage.. . After: After: Most of the buildings in the town appeared to have been flattened.. . Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition The United Nations says approximately 50,000 people remain unaccounted-for in the worst-impacted areas. Rescue teams from Ecuador and the United States halted operations in the early hours of Tuesday, local time, at a site in La Guaira's Macuto when they stopped receiving responses from a mother and her three children trapped beneath a nine-storey building after more than 40 hours of trying to get them out. "In the end we believe the days have already passed and that what we will find now is death," said Major Jorge Montanero, leader of the EQ11 team from Ecuador's Guayaquil. "Unfortunately things haven't developed favourably." Some search efforts are beginning to turn into recovery operations after the critical 72-hour window to find survivors passed, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement. "The scale of the response does not meet the scale of humanitarian need," the IRC said. Before: Before: Dozens of Macuto's ocean-side tower buildings were also wiped out.. . After: After: Many of the town's homes appeared to have lost roofs.. . Instructions: Use left and right arrow keys to control image transition Not all collapsed buildings have had professional rescue teams on site, with relatives and neighbours working to remove debris to pull out survivors or bodies, according to residents from various areas. "There is no doubt we are facing a figure higher than what has already been reported," said Gianluca Rampolla, the resident UN coordinator in Venezuela, on Monday. "I can offer an estimate. We are procuring, and this has been agreed with local authorities, 10,000 body bags." ABC/Reuters