LatinNews Daily - 24 July 2026

*The World Bank (WB) has estimated that the earthquakes which took place in Venezuela on 24 June caused US$19.6bn of direct physical damage. Its findings come from a Global Rapid Damage Estimate (Grade), which provides an early assessment to help the Venezuelan government and development partners understand the scale of the task of rebuilding. According to a WB press release, 47% of total damage occurred in residential buildings, followed by infrastructure (27%), and non-residential buildings (26%). La Guaira state and the capital Caracas were the most severely impacted areas, accounting for around half of the total damage. It says that “under current levels of public and private investment, reconstruction would largely need to be funded by redirecting resources from other investment projects”. It goes on to say that in this scenario, “reconstruction would remain incomplete over a ten-year horizon, with lasting negative effects on economic activity”, and calls for a “more rapid reconstruction effort supported by higher public and private investment” which it says “would mitigate the economic and social impact of the earthquakes”.

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