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The situation has grown more desperate by the hour in Venezuela as people dig through the rubble of collapsed homes and apartment buildings. The country is entering its third day after the devastating one-two punch of 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes. And people know time is running out on the best window for finding survivors — aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours to be a crucial time frame to retrieve people alive. That be extended if they have access to food and water, however. Authorities announced Friday night that they would block access to La Guaira, the epicenter of the destruction.

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Franklin Fuentes searches for missing relatives in the collapsed building where they lived two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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People search for missing relatives at the collapsed building where they lived two days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed around 235 people and left at least 4,300 people injured. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that hit Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century. The quakes could be felt throughout the region. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez says authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas. The natural disaster is the latest challenge for Rodríguez, who took office in January after the U.S. seized then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise military operation.

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This satellite image provided by Vantor shows from left, apartment buildings in La Guaira, Venezuela on June 22, 2026 and apartment buildings collapsed after the Earthquake on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP)

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Residents help to remove rubble from a collapsed building in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026, a day after successive powerful earthquakes struck the country. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)