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3d ago

UN Appeals for $296 Million as Venezuela Counts Thousands Dead After Twin June 24 Quakes

The funding drive will cover six months of relief while health agencies warn crowded shelters and damaged hospitals risk triggering disease outbreaks.

Rescuers search for victims at a collapsed building as one raises a Venezuelan flag following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 28, 2026 in Caraballeda, La Guaira, Venezuela. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the main earthquake on June 24, 2026 was followed by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock less than a minute later.
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Overview

  • Twin earthquakes on June 24 flattened large parts of Venezuela’s northern coast and official counts reported between about 3,685 and 3,889 deaths with roughly 16,000 to 17,000 injured.
  • The United Nations launched a $296 million appeal to help 1.3 million people for six months while tracked international assistance has already topped several hundred million dollars including more than $386 million from the United States.
  • Regional health agencies including PAHO and WHO say overcrowded shelters, disrupted vaccination programs, damaged hospitals and poor water and sanitation have raised the risk of outbreaks of measles, diarrheal disease and other infections.
  • Search-and-rescue operations have largely shifted to body recovery and relief work as international teams conclude or extend missions and UN partners scale up shelter, food, medical care and rubble‑removal plans.
  • Interim authorities are pressing for the release of frozen overseas assets including gold held in London to fund reconstruction as UNDP and others estimate reconstruction needs at a multi‑billion dollar level equivalent to roughly 6% of GDP.