Photo Courtesy - Anadolu Agency

By The South Asia Times

CARACAS -  The death toll from Wednesday's devastating back-to-back earthquakes that struck Venezuela's northern coast has climbed to 235, with more than 4,300 people injured, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado confirmed Thursday.

Speaking on state-run Venezolana de Televisión, Alvarado said medical teams are working around the clock to treat the wounded. "Within the public health system, we have treated more than 4,300 injured individuals," he stated, according to Anadolu Agency.

"Tragically, this includes 235 patients who either arrived at our health facilities with no vital signs or passed away shortly after admission."

The vast majority of casualties and severe injuries are concentrated in the coastal state of La Guaira, which serves as the primary maritime and aerial gateway to the capital, Caracas. The state's Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía remains closed indefinitely due to extensive structural damage. Authorities have begun constructing makeshift field hospitals across the coastal region to cope with the overflow of trauma patients from overwhelmed local clinics.

The widespread devastation stems from a rare "seismic doublet"—a phenomenon where two high-intensity tectonic events rupture almost simultaneously in the same area. On Wednesday afternoon, an initial 7.2 magnitude foreshock near San Felipe was followed just 39 seconds later by a 7.5 magnitude mainshock southeast of Yumare.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced that seismologists have recorded at least 138 aftershocks since the twin quakes. Rodríguez noted that the tremors compromised at least 346 infrastructure sites, including 250 apartment buildings and 20 shopping centers, primarily in La Guaira. Structural failures also impacted eight regional hospitals, forcing emergency personnel to rapidly evacuate patients to alternative facilities.

Many nations have bypassed diplomatic friction to deploy emergency personnel, specialized equipment, and humanitarian aid to the crisis zone.

The United States announced the immediate deployment of military assets to assist local authorities with logistics and humanitarian relief operations. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confirmed a military cargo plane carrying 36 specialized search-and-rescue firefighters, civil defense experts, telecommunications technicians, and a fully equipped field hospital will depart Friday.

Ecuador and El Salvador are deploying specialized canine units, doctors, and tactical rescue teams, while Mexico and Chile have dispatched highly experienced seismic disaster response teams for urban search-and-rescue operations.

Colombia activated its armed forces, police, civil defense, and risk-management units for immediate cross-border deployment. Cuba re-tasked its permanent medical mission within Venezuela to provide frontline triage and trauma care from the onset of the disaster.

Panama, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Uruguay have also pledged emergency personnel and financial aid packages as the nation grapples with one of its worst natural disasters in recent history.