The United Nations and partners are expanding relief operations in response to Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes and supporting the government’s humanitarian response.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the update at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York on Monday.

“We and our partners are continuing to scale up assistance to impacted people by the earthquakes, in coordination with the Government,” Mr Dujarric said.

Two earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck north-central Venezuela on June 24, only 39 seconds apart, causing widespread devastation.

A preliminary assessment by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimated direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at approximately $37 billion, underscoring the scale of the destruction.

Of that amount, about $24 billion covers damage to homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

The remaining $13 billion covers damage to infrastructure, with telecommunications suffering losses of about $5 billion, ahead of energy facilities and road networks.

The assessment relies on risk modelling rather than field inspections and excludes broader economic losses, services disruptions, emergency costs, and future reconstruction expenses.

UN officials said the overall economic impact was expected to rise significantly.

The UN Children’s Fund estimated that about 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, require urgent humanitarian assistance.

Around one-third of schools in the Capital District, including Caracas, were damaged, disrupting education for thousands of pupils.

UNICEF has deployed emergency teams and delivered 68 tonnes of relief supplies, including medical materials, water, sanitation equipment and essential household items.

The agency has appealed for $52 million to expand healthcare, nutrition, safe water, child protection and education services for affected families.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that search-and-rescue operations continued across the worst-hit communities.

Medical workers, engineers and other specialist teams are arriving as the humanitarian needs assessment nears completion.

The assessment will guide an updated response plan and determine additional funding requirements for relief operations.

Government figures showed more than 3,340 people have died, over 16,740 were injured, and approximately 17,000 residents remain homeless.

“The authorities in Caracas are leading the response, focusing on supporting displaced people and addressing urgent humanitarian needs,” Mr Dujarric said.

At least 79 temporary camps have been established in stadiums and sports centres to shelter displaced residents.

UN agencies are already operating in three camps while assessing additional locations that require humanitarian support.

Health partners are providing primary healthcare, mental health support, psychosocial care, and sexual and reproductive health services where necessary.

Humanitarian officials said access to safe water and sanitation continued to improve through hygiene kit distributions and the expansion of sanitation facilities in temporary shelters.

The Humanitarian Response Plan for Venezuela has received $274 million, along with more than $32 million from private-sector donors and additional in-kind contributions.

(NAN)