Two earthquakes struck northern Venezuela in June 2024, one right after the other. They killed an unconfirmed number of people, trapped hundreds in collapsed buildings, and left thousands reported missing, according to PBS NewsHour and Reuters.

The earthquakes hit a densely packed area in northern Venezuela—a region where two of the Earth's major tectonic plates (the pieces that make up the Earth's crust) meet and push against each other. The government declared an emergency and sent rescue teams across the country. PBS NewsHour reported that neighbors were already digging through rubble with their bare hands before official rescue teams showed up.

The most troubling number is how many people went missing: thousands. When communication systems break along with buildings, people cannot call family members, families cannot find their loved ones, and authorities cannot match names to actual survivors. Venezuela's phone and internet systems were already fragile from years of economic problems and lack of investment. This made it even harder to figure out who was alive and who was missing.

Getting aid to Venezuela is more complicated than it would be for other countries. The U.S. has economic sanctions against Venezuela, and other governments have disputed which leader is actually in charge. These political tensions slow down how quickly international rescue teams and supplies can arrive.

Two earthquakes in a row is worse than one big one followed by smaller aftershocks. The first earthquake cracks and weakens buildings. A second earthquake can then topple structures that looked like they might still be standing. Rescue teams working inside these partially collapsed buildings face real danger—the rubble can shift suddenly. A major question is whether Venezuela has enough heavy machinery and trained rescue personnel to dig people out at this scale.

This part of Venezuela has a long history of earthquakes. One major one hit in 1997 and killed over 70 people. Another devastated the capital, Caracas, in 1812. The problem now is that the region has grown much faster, and much of that new construction was done without proper building codes. When the economy struggled over the past 20 years, poorer neighborhoods expanded quickly with houses built without earthquake safety standards.

The bigger picture: countries that prepare well for earthquakes—with strong building rules and regular safety upgrades—lose far fewer people when earthquakes hit. Chile, for example, experiences large earthquakes but has far fewer deaths because of better building standards. What Venezuela faces today reflects years of economic decline and weak governance that made the region more vulnerable, not more resilient.

As of late June 2026, rescue efforts were still ongoing and death counts were still rising. Until phone systems work again and rescue teams finish their work, any number of deaths or missing people reported is a minimum, not final.