A catastrophic double earthquake struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, killing at least 920 people and injuring 3,360 others, exposing deep institutional failures as the government struggled to coordinate rescue efforts and provide basic information to desperate families. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, left 172 people trapped under rubble and more than 50,000 reported missing across the affected region.
Government Response Falls Short
Rescue teams were struggling to reach those buried under debris, and there was an urgent need for international assistance. Communication remained patchy throughout the affected areas, forcing citizens to turn to social media and online registries as crucial tools for seeking information and resources beyond sparse government statistics. One independent online registry documented 51,000 people missing, while another listed 24,000 people unaccounted for, reflecting the lack of official data or information on those missing.
The earthquakes caused widespread devastation in Caracas and surrounding areas, with La Guaira state, north of the capital Caracas, suffering some of the heaviest damage and casualties. While some rushed to search beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings, others created digital flyers on WhatsApp, Facebook and X with their relatives' details.
Social Media Restrictions Compound Crisis
The search was complicated by the country's restrictions on social media and messaging platforms. Sites including X and messaging app Signal were blocked in August 2024 by then-President Nicolás Maduro in an attempt to suppress communication among those who rejected his claim of victory in the presidential election. Former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez became the acting president in January after the U.S. captured and removed Maduro from power.
On Thursday, the U.N. human rights mission in Venezuela issued a statement calling on the government to lift local restrictions on social media and saying timely access to reliable information can save lives. Shortly after the U.N.'s request Thursday, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X.
Families Search Desperately
Vanesa Marcano, 31, posted photos from Madrid of her uncle and aunt, who live in La Guaira state. Marcano said her uncle's daughter and his 7-year-old grandson, who were visiting from the United States, were also missing. She said, "It's a feeling of impotence and uncertainty," and added, "I know you must stay calm and focus on the actions you can take. But it's very easy to fall into despair."
Jhoyser Concalves, a Venezuelan from the northern coastal city of Catia La Mar, said he was talking to his partner and her daughter just minutes before the shaking and that it was the last he heard from them. When the earthquake stopped, Concalves ran out of his house to their apartment building, where they lived on the sixth floor. He said there was only debris and people desperately trying to rescue neighbors from the rubble. Concalves posted a flyer reading "MISSING" on X and Facebook in a desperate attempt to find them. He said, "They are pulling people out of the building alive. So I still have hope that they are in there alive."
Diaspora Struggles to Connect
Outside the country, such sites became even more important for many of the 8 million people who have migrated from Venezuela in recent years and were unable to check on their loved ones. Elibel Tovar's 70-year-old father moved to Brazil more than 20 years ago but was in La Guaira for business. Félix Ramón Tovar Hernández was planning to travel Friday to Chile for his first reunion with his son in more than a decade, but Tovar, 38, said he hasn't heard from his father. Tovar said, "I feel powerless because I don't know how this is affecting him: the shock, the decisions he's having to make, whether he is physically okay, or even whether he is still alive," and added, "Being in Chile makes it very difficult to get information, and everything we see feels confusing."
In Madrid, Marcano said she was trying to stay calm for the sake of her 1-year-old daughter. She said, "You keep hoping someone will organize a fundraiser or some kind of initiative where you can help. But the truth is, from far away, there is very little you can do."
Why This Matters:
The Venezuelan government's inadequate response to this natural disaster demonstrates how years of institutional decay and authoritarian control have left the country unable to protect its citizens even in moments of acute crisis. The lack of official casualty data and the reliance on independent online registries to track missing persons reveals a fundamental failure of basic governmental functions. The prior restrictions on social media platforms, imposed to suppress political dissent, directly hampered life-saving communication during a humanitarian emergency, forcing international pressure to restore access. With rescue teams struggling and an urgent need for international assistance, the disaster underscores the consequences of governance failures that prioritize political control over institutional capacity and citizen welfare.