Six days after two major earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, search teams are still locating survivors beneath collapsed structures, even as the confirmed death toll continues to mount. Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, said on Monday that 1,719 people had been killed, 5,034 injured and 15,866 left homeless by the back-to-back tremors of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that hit on 24 June. More than 600 aftershocks have since rattled the region, including a 4.6-magnitude jolt on Monday that briefly halted rescue work but caused no reported additional damage, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The number of missing remains uncertain. The United Nations has estimated that some 50,000 people are unaccounted for, while a citizen-run online platform cited by Brazilian media puts the figure at around 45,000. Venezuelan authorities have not released an official missing-persons count. The UN resident coordinator, Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, said 10,000 body bags had been procured in anticipation of a rising toll, and the US Geological Survey has assessed a 44 per cent probability that fatalities could exceed 10,000.

A preliminary satellite analysis by NASA and Oregon State University researchers suggests that approximately 58,870 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed across the affected area, a figure far higher than the government’s tally of 855 structures with damage, 189 of which suffered total collapse. The space agency cautioned that the estimate, derived from European Sentinel-1 radar imagery, has not been verified by ground inspections. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported that at least three health facilities are critically damaged and six others are only partially functional, with services overwhelmed by trauma cases and a growing backlog of surgeries. The WHO also warned of heightened risks of vaccine-preventable and vector-borne disease outbreaks, citing low pre-earthquake immunisation coverage.

International assistance has scaled up, with more than 30 countries deploying rescue teams and aid. US Marines have repaired the port of La Guaira to enable maritime deliveries, and Washington says it has committed over $300 million in support. Brazil is sending a fifth humanitarian flight to expand a field hospital, while Italy, China, Colombia and others have dispatched personnel and supplies. As the acute search-and-rescue window closes, aid agencies report that psychological needs among survivors are extremely high. The situation remains fluid, and all casualty and damage figures are provisional.