Venezuela earthquake toll climbs to 3,535 as thousands remain homeless

CARACAS: The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 3,535, while nearly 17,000 people have been injured and about 6,500 people rescued, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Monday.

Rodriguez said on Telegram that 17,854 people are still homeless. He added that nearly 18,000 others have been displaced by the disaster. The back-to-back earthquakes, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, caused heavy damage across affected areas, with more than 850 buildings hit and 190 of them collapsing, according to authorities.

The destruction also disrupted operations at Maiquetia airport, the country’s main international gateway. During a visit to the damaged facility on Monday, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said she had instructed officials to resume commercial flights using a parallel runway "as soon as possible and according to an operational restart schedule".

Search teams were continuing operations in the worst-affected areas, including La Guaira state, where residents have complained of delays in rescue work and fuel shortages that have hampered recovery efforts. An opposition-backed count has estimated that more than 30,000 people are still unaccounted for. During Independence Day events on Sunday, Rodriguez also repeated an appeal to the United States to lift sanctions, saying Venezuela needed broader access to international financing to speed up reconstruction.