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More than 58,000 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed by the powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary assessment of satellite data published by the U.S. space agency NASA.
The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, killed more than 1,700 people and left thousands missing. They were the strongest earthquakes to hit the South American country in more than a century.
Rescue teams raced to find more survivors after the earthquakes, while foreign rescue teams continued arriving in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state. Turkish search-and-rescue teams are also continuing operations in the city following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.
"Approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region," according to researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, who based their assessment on satellite radar data gathered June 25, one day after the earthquakes.
The researchers cited data from Sentinel-1, the European Space Agency's high-resolution radar imagery satellite.
The researchers said the figure was based on abrupt surface changes consistent with damage.
"This is a preliminary, rapid assessment. It reflects abrupt surface change consistent with damage," they wrote.
They said the figure should be read only as an indicator because the findings have not been verified on the ground.
NASA said its satellites were "providing critical support, capturing imagery and data to help teams on the ground assess impacts and guide response efforts."
The satellite-based estimate came as emergency teams continued searching through heavily affected areas and international aid efforts expanded in La Guaira.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez and Foreign Minister Yvan Gil visited Turkish search and rescue teams working in La Guaira, where the greatest loss of life and property was reported.
Lopez and Gil met Türkiye's Ambassador to Caracas Naci Aydan Karamanoglu during the visit. Karamanoglu briefed the ministers on the Turkish teams' work in the disaster zone.
Lopez thanked the Turkish personnel for arriving from so far away in such a short time and said the operation showed strong training and organization.
"To be able to act so quickly in an emergency, to be able to organize so quickly, requires very good training and organization," Lopez told the Turkish team. "Of course, the fact that you came from across the ocean shows how well organized you are."
Lopez said rescue teams were still in a period when survivors could be found.
"We are still at a moment when miracles can happen, that is, when we can save the living," he said. "I want to thank you for coming from so far away in such a short time."
The Turkish search-and-rescue team reminded Lopez that Venezuelan teams also participated in rescue efforts after the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye.
"In times of disaster, distances do not matter; what matters is brotherhood," the Turkish team said in response.
The satellite estimate is far higher than the latest official report from the Venezuelan government.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Monday that 855 buildings had been damaged since Wednesday, including 189 that had totally collapsed.
The government report came as rescue efforts continued in areas affected by the earthquakes and thousands of people remained missing.
The scale of possible damage indicated by satellite data also came as Venezuela began burying more than 1,700 victims and international teams continued efforts to find survivors in La Guaira and other affected areas.
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