A South Florida organization is rushing to gather supplies and aid to send to Venezuela after powerful back-to-back earthquakes left at least 164 people dead and nearly 1,000 people injured, and those numbers are expected to rise.
Global Empowerment Mission, which is based in Doral, said it was mobilizing teams from multiple international branches to gather aid for the devastated South American nation.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA – JUNE 24: People and rescuers work on the debris from the Rita building after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026, in Caracas, Venezuela. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the main earthquake was followed by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock less than a minute later; although some buildings collapsed, the number of victims, according to the authorities, is 32, and over 700 have been injured.
Edilzon Gamez / Getty Images
Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), in partnership with our longtime Venezuelan partner I Love Venezuela, is mobilizing in response to the developing situation in Venezuela,” GEM said in a post on X. “Our reconnaissance and emergency response team is deploying to assess needs, coordinate with local partners, and begin response operations.”
Aid is expected to begin being shipped to Venezuela starting on Thursday, and will have on-site team members in the area starting on Friday.
Nearly 170 dead, 1,000 injured in Venezuela earthquakes
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said early Thursday that at least 164 people were dead and 971 injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela. She had earlier put the death toll from the Wednesday night quakes at 32, but said it was expected to rise as rescuers searched collapsed buildings and emergency crews worked to access devastated areas.
People walk amid debris after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026.
AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquakes had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5.
The agency estimated the powerful earthquakes in Venezuela could have killed thousands of people, with a 42% chance of at least 10,000 fatalities, though that is based on historical averages and does not take into account many factors specific to this event.