World Bank estimates Venezuela earthquakes caused $19.6bn in damage

The powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela in late June inflicted an estimated $19.6 billion in physical damage, the World Bank reported Thursday. This staggering figure underscores the immense challenges Venezuela faces in its path to recovery.

The World Bank's assessment revealed that residential buildings bore the brunt of the destruction, accounting for 47 percent of the total physical damage. Infrastructure suffered 27 percent of the damage, while non-residential buildings made up the remaining 26 percent. These seismic events have profoundly disrupted lives and damaged critical infrastructure, creating new obstacles for the nation's recovery efforts.

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The earthquakes have disrupted lives, damaged critical infrastructure, and created new challenges for Venezuela’s recovery.

Government authorities reported that the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, which occurred on June 24, resulted in at least 5,000 fatalities and nearly 17,000 injuries. An additional 18,000 people were left homeless. This devastation compounds the existing economic hardship in Venezuela, where an estimated 76 percent of the population was already living in poverty due to years of economic mismanagement and international sanctions.

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Recovering effectively begins with reliable evidence.

Susana Cordeiro Guerra, the World Bank vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasized the need for reliable evidence to guide recovery. "Recovering effectively begins with reliable evidence," she stated. The World Bank's estimate, generated using the Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology, aims to provide Venezuelan authorities and international partners with crucial data on the scale of the recovery challenge. The report identified La Guaira state and Distrito Capital as the most severely impacted areas.

While global support has been pledged, the source of recovery funds remains uncertain. The United States announced $200 million in aid to the Red Cross for disaster and conflict-affected populations, though it is not specifically earmarked for Venezuela. The World Bank cautioned that without significant additional investment, the negative impact on Venezuela's productive capacity and living standards will inevitably slow its recovery.

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Without timely additional investment, the negative impact on productive capacity and living standards will slow the path to recovery.