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Photos: See Venezuela destruction after earthquakes

NPR | By John Otis
Published June 25, 2026 at 2:44 PM EDT
A man carries a mattress past damaged residential buildings following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas, on June 25, 2026.
Federico Parra
/
Getty Images
A man carries a mattress past damaged residential buildings following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas, on June 25, 2026.

Search and rescue crews are pulling survivors from the rubble after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela less than a minutes apart last night.

The earthquakes were Venezuela's largest in over a century.

The epicenter was west of Caracas, but the destruction stretched across one of the country's most densely populated regions.

Officials say at least 164 people are dead as rescue crews continue searching thorugh collapsed buildings. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency, urging people to remain alert for aftershocks.

Copyright 2026 NPR

People react near a damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas.
Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
People react near a damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas.
People search through the rubble around a car trapped beneath the collapsed remains of a residential building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas.
Federico Parra / AFP viaGetty Images
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AFP viaGetty Images
People search through the rubble around a car trapped beneath the collapsed remains of a residential building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas.
People walk past a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on June 25, 2026.
Manuare Quintero / AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
People walk past a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on June 25, 2026.
People search for survivors while others try to salvage belongings in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, some 30km north-west of Caracas.
Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
People search for survivors while others try to salvage belongings in a collapsed building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, some 30km north-west of Caracas.
Residents look at a damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas, on June 25, 2026.
Federico Parra / AFP vua Getty Images
/
AFP vua Getty Images
Residents look at a damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Caracas, on June 25, 2026.
A view shows the interior of a heavily damaged apartment building following an earthquake.
Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
A view shows the interior of a heavily damaged apartment building following an earthquake.
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
Pedro Mattey / AP
/
AP
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026.
A man looks out from a damaged apartment building following an earthquake.
Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images
/
AFP via Getty Images
A man looks out from a damaged apartment building following an earthquake.
A firefighter rescues a dog from a building that collapsed after an earthquake.
Pedro Mattey / AP
/
AP
A firefighter rescues a dog from a building that collapsed after an earthquake.
Damaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela.
Juan Pablo Arraez / AP
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AP
Damaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela.
Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela.
Pedro Mattey / AP
/
AP
Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela.
NPR News
John Otis
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
See stories by John Otis