Vanessa Silva
Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela

At a makeshift distribution site in Caracas I met Oriana,a volunteer helping people who lost their homes in the earthquakes.

"We are collecting clothes, medical devices and food - all types of things to help people whose houses have been damaged and people who suffered from the earthquake," she says.

"Food is one of the most important things we are collecting."

Satellite images taken before and after twin earthquakes shook Venezuela show the severity of the damage to the country.

High-rise apartment complexes, businesses and people's homes were reduced to rubble by the 24 June tremors.

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Image source, Vantor via Getty Images

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

Just a few moments ago, I spoke to César Jiménez, an aid worker for Project Hope. The US-headquartered global health and humanitarian NGO operates 55 health centres in eight Venezuelan states, including in the earthquake-stricken areas of Caracas, Miranda and La Guaira.

I asked him whether Venezuela and the various organisations that work in the country were prepared for a disaster of this magnitude, which comes after years of economic woes and political strife.

“No country could have been prepared, but we were trying,” he responded. “But this type of disaster took us by surprise. There was no planning for this. You can’t even count the number of people that are looking for help. All of their buildings have been wrecked, entirely.”

Jiménez was at home with his family when the earthquakes struck.

“It started quite softly,” he tells me. “But it got more intense very quickly. It surprised us that it lasted so long, over a minute.”

As it became stronger, Jiménez tried to shelter near a column inside his house, alongside his family.

“It was so strong we couldn’t stay on our feet,” he recalls. “The electricity went out. The cabinets and the TV broke. We left immediately out onto the street, and all our neighbours were there. That’s when the aftershocks happened.”

Soon after the earthquakes, Project Hope staff across the country began inspecting the various health centres.

Some of them, particularly in La Guaira, had severe structure damage. Some are no longer stable.

“They are collapsing under the weight of people who are coming in looking for help,” he says.

The challenge now, Jiménez explains, is meeting the urgent need for medical supplies including bandages, sutures and medicines.

Donations and volunteers are already coming into the organisation, but he says more help is needed.

Image source, Reuters

UN Secretary-General António Guterres says on X that the UN is "mobilizing assistance" and "working closely" with the Venezuelan government and partners to support the country.

He says he is "deeply saddened" by the loss of life following two major earthquakes last night.

Earlier, Tom Fletcher, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said principals from the humanitarian community would meet in Geneva to work out how to scale up relief response.

In a video update, he also his department was deploying teams to the affected region today and that the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Caracas spoke with acting President Delcy Rodríguez this morning about what should be the top priorities in the response.

Fletcher also listed several countries which have offered their support to the emergency response including the US, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Switzerland, Qatar, Mexico, China, Brazil, Caribbean nations, Syria, the UK, Russia and Spain.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Juan Ortiz

I've been speaking to Juan, a medical student in Caracas.

"I have multiple friends from my university who are missing," he says. "Around 20 people as far as I know, from the university medical school."

One close friend has been confirmed dead. One is believed to be under the debris. Many from his class are missing.

They all live in the coastal area worst hit by the earthquake while attending classes in Caracas.

"I'm in shock and confusion, and frustrated that I can't help," he says.

He hopes it's just that they are out of contact due to the communication networks being down, "but it's rough out there".

He and his friends are saying prayers that their friends will be found. He is going with a group of medical students to volunteer tomorrow in the hospital in Vargas.

Image source, Reuters

Charity Oxfam has warned the destruction caused by twin earthquakes in Venezuela could worsen living conditions for "thousands of people" and contribute to a humanitarian crisis that is "already severe".

An estimated 7.9 million people were already in need of aid in the country as of early 2026, Oxfam says.

Partner organisations working locally are carrying out "initial assessments" of the damage and determining the "most urgent needs", the charity says.

Image source, Reuters

Emergency workers are racing to reach people trapped beneath the rubble in Venezuela, as the next few hours prove crucial following yesterday's earthquakes.

At least 188 people have been killed and more than 1,500 are injured, according to the latest reports.

State media channel Venezolana de Televisión says 157 are reported missing - although the exact figure is unclear with a separate missing people website pointing to a figure in the tens of thousands.

Twin earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 hit less than a minute apart last night, and the second was the strongest in the country since 1900.

President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez says 250 buildings have been damaged or lost, primarily in La Guaira.

Pictures show the searches in action in different parts of the country - but 20-year-old Antoan Marín from Caracas fears efforts are "insufficient" given the scale of the destruction.

He thought his own house would "split in two" last night, and says a professor from his university is trapped in a building that has "completely collapsed".

Meanwhile, a woman in La Guaira says: "I just want to know where my son is."

Vanessa Silva
Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela

Image source, BBC/Vanessa Silva

Some people are staying with relatives, in public spaces, while others remain outside their buildings, at least in the Chacao municipality, where two buildings collapsed and many others suffered structural damage.

I saw people in their apartments, now without walls, perhaps searching for anything they could salvage in case they couldn't return home. Some say that, according to the firefighters, the main columns are solid, but the walls are not and are at risk of falling.

Here in the Palos Grandes area of ​​the Chacao municipality, we've felt aftershocks, like a kind of gentle wave passing by. People get scared and hurry, taking their belongings or moving to the middle of the streets away from walls and windows.

People from other municipalities have come to this area with water and food for those who can't return to their homes, as well as those assisting in the rescue efforts by removing debris.

There's a lot of traffic, and the surrounding plazas are serving as collection points. Many residents remember the 1967 earthquake.

Despite the risk in this area due to the seismic fault that runs through it, it is a favourite spot in Caracas for expatriates. It is an area full of bars and restaurants that was coming back to life.

A gentleman was about to open his business in a few days and commented that now it was damaged.

The UK's International Search and Rescue team "stands ready for deployment" to Venezuela, the Foreign Office says.

A Foreign Office spokesperson says: "Following the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela the UK government is working to support a rapid humanitarian response, helping to address urgent needs on the ground.

"We are working closely with international partners to ensure a coordinated response, and our UK International Search and Rescue team stands ready for deployment."

All UK staff are safe and accounted for in Venezuela, it adds.

No British nationals are understood to have been involved in the earthquakes and the number of Brits who are in Venezuela is thought to be in the low hundreds.

Will Grant
Central America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

These first few hours are absolutely crucial for emergency workers to get to the voices they can hear under the rubble.

The Venezuelan emergency services are experienced with dealing with this kind of disaster, however the brain drain of the last few years and a mass exodus of young people have impacted the ability of firefighters and ambulance crews to operate.

Nonetheless, they are working around the clock attempting to reach those most affected in the state of La Guaira.

Desperate family members are sitting and waiting for news.

In January, the Venezuelan capital Caracas came under fire from air strikes from the US.

The then-president Nicolas Maduro was removed from power at gunpoint by US Delta Force troops.

But now things look very different.

The subsequent administration under acting President Delcy Rodriguez has been working with Washington despite decades of opposition.

This is a big test of that new relationship and it was interesting to see US President Donald Trump immediately offer support to Rodriguez.

In La Guaira 100 buildings have collapsed and the picture is very bleak.

There is the potential for casualties to be in the thousands.

Medical teams, possibly provided from the US, will be essential in the coming hours.

We can bring you these latest pictures of the aftermath of the earthquake in La Guaira, a coastal area where more than 100 buildings have collapsed. Local residents and rescue workers have been searching for people who could still be under the rubble.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

That's a question I asked two experts today.

Ilan Kelman, professor of disasters and health at University College London, says Caracas "does have a building code" with "modern seismic provisions in it". But enforcement is a "roll of the dice", in his view.

He says some of the collapses we are seeing suggest provisions were not always taken.

He references social and political challenges in Venezuela, saying these can make it "difficult" for laws to be monitored and enforced.

Seismic design expert América Bendito, who is Venezuelan and has previously advised organisations including Unesco, says building codes are "only one part of the safety system". They also need to be "consistently implemented".

"Whether that happened in this case is something that post-earthquake investigations will determine," she says.

But she adds that important lessons were learned after the 1967 Caracas earthquake, calling it a "watershed moment".

For example, she says engineers working on modern buildings today "use much more rigorous detailing of reinforced concrete so that beams and columns can deform without failing suddenly".

Image source, América Bendito

We can bring you more information from remarks by President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez.

He says two hundred and fifty buildings have been damaged or lost, primarily in La Guaira.

Speaking on national television, he says Venezuela faces "severe disruption" after two earthquakes struck last night.

The twin earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude have been followed by 138 aftershocks, he adds.

He says national unity is a priority as the rescue effort continues, and confirms the arrival of specialist rescue teams from the US, Mexico, Spain, Qatar, and the UN.

He also says measures from acting President Delcy Rodríguez include a request for private companies to provide machinery to remove debris, the creation of a $200m fund for assistance, and special credit lines for affected businesses.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

We still don't have firm details on what US assistance to Venezuela will look like, but the US military's Southern Command - which has responsibility for Latin America - has said that its forces are "moving quickly" to support the Venezuelan government.

In a post on X, the command said it established an operational planning team which includes specialists in disaster relief, and is working with regional partners who have also pledged to join the international assistance mission underway in the country.

"Our forces are prepared to move quickly, bringing the unmatched airlift, logistics, and operational capabilities of the US military to help save lives and support the Government of Venezuela during this crisis," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a separate post.

Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US military would be handling American aid flights to Venezuela due to damage sustained by Caracas' airport.

We have yet to hear directly from President Trump so far today.

The death toll from two devastating earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to at least 188 people, in addition to 1,520 people injured and 200 still trapped, the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, says, according to Reuters, AFP and local media.

At least 2,927 families have lost their homes in the destruction, Rodriguez says.

Twenty-year-old Antoan Marín, who lives in the San Agustín neighborhood in Caracas, tells BBC Mundo he felt like his house was going to "split in two", and feared he might die.

He says he lives in a neighbourhood where most of the houses are "makeshift" and a significant proportion "don't meet seismic standards".

Luckily, his house remained intact, he adds.

A professor from his university lives in a building that has "completely collapsed" - rescuers are trying to help but so far his professor remains trapped, he says.

Volunteers and emergency services are "insufficient" given the scale of the destruction, he adds.

Image source, Antoan Marín

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

Like Myanmar last year and Haiti in 2010, Venezuela is not well equipped to cope with a disaster of this magnitude. Decades of corruption and economic mismanagement have degraded the state’s ability to take care of the most basic functions, let alone something like this.

It’s a huge test for the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. Her populist former boss, Nicolas Maduro, will be watching events from a prison cell in Brooklyn, where he faces American charges of drug trafficking. Ms Rodriguez has already addressed the nation, declaring a state of emergency and offering her sympathies.

Offers of assistance have been coming in from all over the world. Here, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Britain was working with partners to help with the global response. But all eyes will be on the Trump administration. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said disaster response teams would soon be on the way, but that there were challenges.

Since America’s military intervention in January, Venezuela has become a kind of vassal state, with Washington exerting enormous control over the country’s vital oil industry. Members of the US Congress have complained about a lack of transparency over how Venezuela’s oil revenues are being managed, as well as the absence of moves towards a democratic transition.

This disaster isn’t just a test for Delcy Rodriguez; it’s a test for Washington too, in a part of the world where Donald Trump says America is in charge.

More than 36,000 people have been reported as missing on a website called Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela, translated as people missing in the Venezuela earthquake.

Of the 36,386 people reported as missing, 2,316 have since been reported as having been located.

However, it's important to consider that these figures may not be accurate, given that they rely on people actively reporting loved ones as missing and then confirming whether or not they have since been found safe.

Residents living in La Guaira, one of the worst hit areas of Venezuela, have described how they have been left desperately searching for relatives.

"I just want to know where my son is," says Dayana Delgado. She says the area's governor had said machinery was going to be sent to the area but that still has not arrived.

Meanwhile Cristian Carreño describes how he has "lost everything". His apartment, car and motorcycle have all been destroyed.

He explains how a building with four apartments collapsed completely burying one flat.

"Everything on the ground floor was buried," he says, adding: "I imagine there are people trapped inside who couldn't get out."

You can hear more from Delgado and Carreño in the video below.

The below images show scenes in Catia La Mar, a port city in the La Guaira area, which as we've been reporting has been particularly badly affected by these earthquakes.

Image source, EPA

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images