Two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela's north-central region on 24 June, just 39 seconds apart, causing widespread destruction. A first assessment by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) estimates the direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at approximately $37 billion. This includes around $24 billion in damage to buildings such as homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and public facilities, and about $13 billion in infrastructure damage. Telecommunications suffered the heaviest losses, estimated at $5 billion, followed by energy generation and roads.
The Government of Venezuela reported that more than 3,340 people have died, over 16,740 were injured, and around 17,000 people have been left homeless. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that children are among the worst affected, estimating that 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, will require humanitarian assistance.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated in New York, “We and our partners are continuing to scale up assistance to impacted people by the earthquakes, in coordination with the Government,” emphasizing efforts on "supporting displaced people and addressing urgent humanitarian needs."
Search and rescue teams remain active in the affected areas, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The damage estimate is based on risk modeling and does not yet include losses from disrupted services, economic activity, emergency response costs, supply chain effects, or reconstruction.
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