Venezuelan Government Reports 4,734 Deaths from Earthquakes as UN Estimates Up to 50,000 Missing

The Venezuelan government has updated its official death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck on June 24, raising the number of fatalities to 4,734, according to an announcement by Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly and spokesperson for the emergency reports.

The official document, released three weeks after the seismic doublet of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 hit northern Venezuela with an epicenter in Carabobo state, also lists 16,740 injured and 6,462 people rescued alive.

The number of deaths has steadily increased from an initial report of 164 on June 25, to 920 on June 26, 1,719 on June 28, 2,295 on July 1, 3,535 on July 6, 4,118 on July 10, 4,561 on July 13, and now reaching 4,734 this Tuesday.

Humanitarian Response and Rescue Efforts

The official report further details that 190 buildings collapsed and 856 were affected, while 1,275 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial earthquakes.

Regarding humanitarian aid, the regime reports 107 temporary camps housing 20,903 people, with 17,907 individuals left homeless and 128,324 families receiving assistance. Over 10,063 tons of food and more than 21.7 million liters of water have been distributed, with 33,652 patients receiving medical care.

The government states that 30,989 personnel, 31,050 volunteers, and 2,471 international rescuers from at least 11 countries have been deployed for rescue operations.

Discrepancies in Death Toll Estimates

However, the official figures starkly contrast with estimates from independent organizations. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a Red Alert and estimates a 42% probability that the actual death toll could range between 10,000 and 100,000.

The United Nations has estimated up to 50,000 people remain missing beneath the rubble. On June 27, Tom Fletcher, head of the organization’s humanitarian aid, described this scenario as "terrifyingly plausible." The citizen platform "Encuéntralos" reported more than 71,000 individuals unaccounted for as of June 29, highlighting skepticism towards the official numbers.

Despite these discrepancies, the Venezuelan government, led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, has not released any official figures on the missing. Rodríguez has dismissed international criticism of the aid response as "narratives fabricated in propaganda laboratories," while Jorge Rodríguez justified the absence of data on the missing by citing a need to "avoid speculation."

Economic Impact and Official Statements

The NASA has detected 58,000 buildings either damaged or destroyed through satellite imagery, with material losses estimated between $4.7 billion and $8.7 billion, equating to between 4% and 8% of Venezuela's GDP, exacerbating an already struggling economy.

The Venezuelan government has described the June 24 earthquakes as "the most disastrous event this Republic has experienced in the past 123 years," a magnitude that independent figures suggest could be significantly greater than what the official data acknowledges.