Venezuela Quake Toll Nears 2,300 as U.S. Rescue Teams Work in La Guaira

The official death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes has risen to nearly 2,300, with tens of thousands still missing, as American search teams and relief groups continue work on the country’s devastated Caribbean coast, PBS News reported. The quakes struck on Wednesday, June 24, and the window in which people are usually found alive under collapsed buildings has long passed.

The toll has climbed steadily. NBC News reported on Monday that National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez put the count at 1,719, that more than 46,000 people were listed as missing on a website families use to share details, and that about 5,000 people were injured and more than 15,000 displaced. It was not known how many of the missing had been found. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said 33 people had been found over the weekend, and she vowed that rescue operations “will not be suspended.”

Survivors are still being found, if rarely. PBS reported that a security guard was pulled alive after eight days. The Fairfax County, Virginia, search-and-rescue team, designated USA-01, has 79 people and six dogs working in La Guaira and had removed five live victims by the time Battalion Chief Daniel Gajewski spoke with PBS. Gajewski said many multistory buildings had “pancake collapsed,” though large voids offer chances for rescues. He compared the damage with the team’s deployment to Turkey, calling it “a little bit larger scale,” and said the death toll could rise.

Over 53 international teams from over 27 countries are responding, according to PBS. The United Nations said last Saturday that 44 international urban search and rescue teams, with 2,245 specialists and 140 dogs, had been deployed, NBC News reported. U.S. Southern Command said Marines were helping with the search “around the clock.”

The U.S. toll is small but real. A senior Trump administration official said three Americans were killed, NBC News reported. Of roughly 5,000 Americans believed to be in Venezuela, 12 are missing and more than 300 have asked the State Department for help. A State Department task force is coordinating emergency efforts. The disaster is a major test for Delcy Rodríguez, who took office in January after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro, NBC noted.

Frustration is building over the pace of the local response. NBC reported that residents said little evidence of the 14,000 military personnel and police officers said to have been deployed was visible in the disaster zone, and that civilians at one site blocked an excavator after state workers took photos and left. A rescue-brigade member in Caracas told NBC, “We have no answers, there’s no organization.” Authorities said electricity, water and road access had been largely restored in La Guaira.

Chef José Andrés, whose World Central Kitchen is feeding survivors and first responders, told PBS his team is delivering meals to five buildings where searches continue and is preparing a “phase two” as the government, the United Nations and other agencies set up camps. He said the main concern now is displaced people who lost their homes. Andrés said clean water and clean kitchens reduce the risk of cholera.