Venezuela earthquake death toll surpasses 3,800, aid teams depart

The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month has risen to at least 5,000, with tens of thousands still missing, as international aid teams begin to leave the region. The first quake, magnitude 7.2, hit 23 kilometres west of Caracas, followed 38 seconds later by a 7.5 magnitude tremor in a similar area. The United Nations estimates the damage at $6.7 billion, equivalent to 6% of the country's economy.

Two weeks after the disaster, the confirmed death count stood at 3,811, according to Venezuelan lawmakers. But as the search continued, the figure climbed. By the one-month mark, the government acknowledged over 5,000 deaths. Locals say the true number may be far higher, with many bodies still buried under collapsed buildings. In the worst-hit state of La Guaira, entire blocks of social housing were reduced to rubble. Families have been digging through the debris themselves, often with their bare hands or basic tools, because official rescue efforts have been slow and disorganised.

International search and rescue teams have largely departed, leaving local volunteers to carry on the work. In one area, a Mexican team with detection dogs was called in after reports of knocking, but hopes were dashed. In another, 16 people were believed to be trapped alive in a shop under a collapsed building, and rescuers were working painstakingly to reach them. The heat and the smell of rotting bodies have become unbearable, raising fears of a sanitary crisis.

The government has faced heavy criticism from survivors and humanitarian groups for its response. Many say the authorities had no plan for search and rescue. The interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has insisted the country will not descend into social unrest, and the government has donated 200 homes to affected families. The public works minister argued that the earthquake did not discriminate between public and private buildings, and that social housing was not poorly constructed. But residents point to buildings made mostly of sand, with insufficient concrete, as evidence of poor construction.

International aid has been substantial. The United States has pledged more than $310 million in assistance, and a US delegation met with Rodriguez to discuss reconstruction. The US-based NGO Global Empowerment Mission said it had collected over 10,000 pallets of aid and was distributing it within 48 hours of arrival. The organisation's president, Michael Capone, described the scale of destruction as comparable to the Turkey earthquake, Gaza, or the front lines in Ukraine. He estimated that 1.8 million people had been affected, with about a million sleeping on the streets. He said the country would not survive without outside help.

Amid the devastation, there have been stories of survival. A 12-year-old girl, Fabiana, was rescued after 32 hours under rubble; she survived by eating ketchup and grated cheese she found. A security guard was pulled out alive after eight days buried in an underground car park. But for most families, the search has ended in grief. One father finally found his 11-year-old daughter's body after a month of searching. A fisherman, Victor Calderon, lost 26 relatives, including his two sisters and their children and grandchildren. He said he had not cried yet, and would not until he found the last missing person.

The government says the response is now shifting from emergency relief to long-term recovery, with the UN helping to coordinate reconstruction. But the northern coastline will take years and billions of dollars to rebuild, in a country already in dire economic straits. The trial of former president Nicolas Maduro on drug trafficking charges in a US court continues, but for most Venezuelans, that is a distant concern. As one resident put it: "Right now, we all feel like we don't have a president here, no one at all. Our president is ourselves, our families, and the Venezuela people."