Venezuela earthquake death toll reaches 3,535 as rescue teams withdraw

Twelve days after twin earthquakes devastated north-central Venezuela, the death toll has climbed to 3,535, with over 16,740 injured and roughly 17,000 left homeless, according to figures released Monday by the Venezuelan government. International rescue teams that had been combing through rubble since late June have begun withdrawing, marking a grim transition from search-and-rescue to recovery.reuters+1

A Mounting Crisis

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck on June 24, just 39 seconds apart, in the worst seismic disaster to hit Venezuela in over a century. The United Nations estimated that as many as 50,000 people remain unaccounted for, a figure UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called "terrifyingly plausible". A first assessment by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction puts direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at $37 billion, including $24 billion in damage to buildings and $13 billion in infrastructure losses.npr+3

At least 79 transitional camps have opened in stadiums and sports centers to house displaced residents, while authorities in Caracas lead the response alongside UN agencies now delivering services in three of those camps. UNICEF has warned that 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, will need humanitarian assistance, and has deployed 68 tonnes of emergency supplies.news.un

International Aid and Withdrawal

More than 2,000 rescue workers from 27 countries deployed to Venezuela in the days following the disaster. But with the chances of finding survivors now nearly exhausted, teams have begun heading home. L.A. County rescue crews were among those returning this week, following what one UN coordinator described as a "frantic race" to locate the missing.ktla+2

The World Food Programme has scaled up operations, aiming to reach 500,000 people in the hardest-hit areas over three months. WFP had more than 3,000 metric tons of food pre-positioned in the country and has appealed for $50 million to sustain emergency distributions. The United States committed $150 million in humanitarian aid, while the Humanitarian Response Plan has received $274 million alongside $32 million from private donors.wfp+2

What Comes Next

With formal rescue operations concluding, survivors have been left to search for missing relatives largely on their own. Authorities have begun burying dozens of unidentified bodies. The total economic impact is expected to rise well beyond initial estimates, as the $37 billion damage figure does not account for disrupted services, emergency response costs, or supply chain effects.english.aawsat+1