After shocks continue to disrupt rescue efforts in Northern Venezuela following two catastrophic back-to-back earthquakes on June 24, 2026. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes have left thousands dead, with tens of thousands still reported missing.
Venezuelan national Ignacio Ruben Smith Salazar indicated that the persistent aftershocks are forcing emergency crews to pause operations frequently, raising concerns about the safety of both survivors and rescuers.
“The government and the international, the international community are currently helping on the rescue and salvage operations but it hasn’t been easy due to the aftershocks we’ve had over the last week. Now we’re looking at about 350 plus aftershocks ranging from 2.5 to 4.5. That has made things little bit more complicated.”
Citing NASA satellite assessments that approximately 59,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed across northern Venezuela, Mr. Smith Salazar emphasized that reconstruction costs are likely to run into the billions.
“The main concern right now is how to rebuild a country where you had a hundred thousand, sorry, a hundred billion dollars to reconstruct the oil industry, now we are probably looking at about at a hundred and 50 to 2 hundred billion to rebuild the country.”
Over 24 nations have already sent 2700 people to assist Venezuela in their search and rescue efforts.