At least 1,719 people are reported to have died after two devastating earthquakes struck northwestern Venezuela last week.

The final casualty count is expected to rise significantly.

Some media outlets report resident’s growing frustration with the Venezuelan government and its recovery efforts.

Sky News on June 29 reported that the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Venezuela was preparing for as many as 10,000 deaths. 

Social media posts, news reports and drone footage have been shared in recent days, proving vital sources for many Venezuelans (both in the country and living abroad) who are searching for information about loved ones who remain missing.

Social media pages have been set up listing many of those who are yet to be accounted for. Others have contacted Bellingcat asking if apartment blocks relatives were staying in are still standing. 

Bellingcat has received satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC that shows one the worst affected areas in the country, including collapsed buildings and apartment blocks in La Guaira.

Readers can move laterally and vertically to observe the full image in the interactive below as well as zoom in on specific areas to assess the damage. A share button on the top right will copy a shareable link to the zoomed in area.

Scroll and zoom to see damage throughout the affected Venezuelan coast. Toggle between English and Spanish. Share a link to a specific location by clicking the button on the top right. The before imagery is from Jul 30, 2025 and Dec 12, 2023. After imagery is from Jun 27, 2026. SkySat imagery via Planet Labs PBC.

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The high resolution image covers a 14-mile stretch of Venezuela’s northern coast from the towns of Catia La Mar to Caraballeda, which have been among the worst impacted. 

Other areas to be significantly impacted but not included in the imagery above include Caracas, Maracay, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Yaracuy.

We have compared the satellite imagery we obtained with previous images captured before the earthquake to identify which parts of this 14-mile stretch of coastline to show changes since the quakes. 

Readers can toggle between the imagery captured on June 27 (five days after the Jun. 24 quakes) and a composite of reference images taken on Jul. 30, 2025 and Dec. 11, 2023 (before the quakes).

Zooming in on specific areas reveals the scale of the damage.

For example, several buildings seem to have been flattened in the below before and after images showing the Playa Grande area.

Before imagery (left) of Playa Grande is from Feb 27, 2026. Imagery from after the earthquake (right) is from Jun 26, 2026. SkySat imagery via Planet Labs PBC.

The Planet Labs imagery also confirms significant destruction in the town of Carabelleda.

Before imagery (left) of Carabelleda is from Jun. 19, 2026. Imagery from after the earthquake (right) is from Jun 27, 2026. SkySat imagery via Planet Labs PBC.

Another area, Macuto, has been significantly impacted as well.

Before imagery (left) of Macuto is from Mar 20, 2026. Imagery from after the earthquake (right) is from Jun 27, 2026. SkySat imagery via Planet Labs PBC.

Footage taken on the ground and posted to social media also displays the devastation.

A minute-long video filmed on a 500-meter section of José María España Avenue in Carabelleda shows as many as a dozen collapsed buildings, most of them high-rises. This drone footage gives an aerial look of the destruction of at least six apartment blocks in the same area.

Another video shared on social media showed a collapsed hotel in Macuto, between Carabelleda and La Guaira.

Other open source information about the damage in cities such as Caracas, Valencia and beyond can be found on this site where individuals are uploading images and videos detailing damage.

While international rescuers continue to arrive in Venezuela, the threat of aftershocks remains.

Reuters also reports that engineers fear many buildings that remain standing could be vulnerable and are requesting an audit of state housing.

Carlos Gonzales, Jake Godin and Miguel Ramalho contributed to this report.

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.

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The post Satellite Imagery Shows Scale of Venezuela Earthquake Damage appeared first on bellingcat.

Bellingcat has geolocated and verified two new videos showing the deadly strikes that hit an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound as well as an adjacent school in the city of Minab in late February.

The new videos were released by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and show multiple missiles hitting the complex. 

One of the new videos shows the area around the school being struck while the other shows a nearby IRGC clinic and two buildings within the IRGC facility being hit by Tomahawk missiles. 

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Visual and solar analysis of the videos appears to show there was a time gap between when each was filmed, suggesting that there were at least two waves of strikes carried out in the area. 

Applying the same solar analysis techniques to social media footage that showed the school after it had been hit indicates the school was impacted during the first wave of strikes.

Previous investigations by Bellingcat and other news organisations showed a US Tomahawk missile struck the IRGC facility on Feb. 28. 

The US is the only party to the conflict to possess Tomahawk missiles.

Media reports, including from the New York Times and Reuters, have since detailed that a preliminary investigation by the US military concluded it was likely a US strike that hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school.

According to Iranian media, at least 175 people were killed in the attack, including children.

Analysing New Minab Videos

The first video (video one) is filmed from just over 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) away from the IRGC base and shows at least 10 missiles impacting the area over a period of 50 seconds.

The first explosion is visible five seconds into the video. The area around where the school was located is struck at 14 seconds. This is the fourth explosion visible in the footage.

Another structure that was damaged in the strikes is situated approximately 100 metres away from the school in the same general area. It was therefore not possible to determine which exact structure was hit from this footage alone.

The second new video (video two) was filmed approximately two kilometres southeast of the school, and is of a higher quality than video one. This video shows three Tomahawk missiles in the moments before impact.

Video two includes annotations and pauses when each Tomahawk appears on screen. 

A frame-by-frame analysis also shows what appear to be two minor visual glitches where some frames are transposed and annotations were added, highlighting when missiles can be seen.

The second impact seen in video two is the same as seen in footage released by Iranian media in early March, and previously reported on by Bellingcat and others, only from a different perspective.

Video two also only shows the southern part of the base, with its northern section not visible. The school is located on the northern edge of the base and is therefore not visible in video two.

Bellingcat asked the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs why only part of the strike, as seen in video one, was released and if there was a longer version that may show further impacts. We did not receive a response before publication.

Bellingcat also asked the US Department of Defense whether it had any further information on the strike since its reported preliminary findings. It referred us to CENTCOM, which said: “We have nothing for you on this. The investigation is still ongoing.”

Geolocating the Videos

Bellingcat was able to geolocate and verify video one by tracing sightlines on satellite imagery to determine the camera’s location and identify objects such as buildings, trees and a water tower within the IRGC facility. 

According to this analysis, video one was most likely filmed from an electric substation southeast of the school.

Once all key elements were identified and geolocated, we analysed each explosion that can be seen in the footage. 

Fourteen seconds into video one, the fourth impact appears to hit the area immediately around the school, which was approximately 200 meters behind a water tower. 

While the school was walled off and outside the IRGC facility, the water tower and another building (situated between the school and the water tower) are located within it.

Due to the relatively small distance between the school and the other IRGC building (roughly 100m), it was not possible to determine what structure was hit at the moment of the strike visible in video one.

More information, such as obtaining the entire strike video sequence, would be needed to fully determine which structure was hit in this footage. However, social media footage captured at the scene does suggest that the school was hit around this time.

For video two, we stitched together a rough panorama of what could be seen in the footage. 

This made it possible to match up multiple buildings visible southeast of the IRGC base and school, while also building rough sightlines to show which part of the base was being filmed.

Bellingcat was able to narrow down the areas hit by the three missiles seen in video two by comparing it with the point of view of a short video released in early March, showing a Tomahawk hitting the complex, as well as with what could be seen in video one. Post-strike satellite imagery also helped confirm the buildings that were hit in the footage. 

We were thus able to determine that video two shows an IRGC clinic and two buildings within the IRGC compound being hit.

Time of the Strikes

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that two waves of strikes occurred. 

Initial analysis did suggest that video one and two appeared to be filmed at different times as the strikes visible in each clip cannot be synced up. 

Solar data also gives clues as to the time each was taken, suggesting that there was a time gap of at least an hour between the strikes seen in the two videos.

According to the New York Times, the strikes were first reported on social media just after 11:30 am.

Solar data, derived by the direction of shadows visible in video one and simulated via the SunCalc platform, appears to indicate it was filmed between 10:30 and 11:30am.

Analysing the shadows seen in the earlier March video using the same method, appears to show that it was filmed between 13:30 and 14:30. 

This would seem to indicate that video two and the earlier March video were likely filmed after video one.

Solar data from a video posted to Telegram showing the smouldering school, and damage to the nearby IRGC building about 100m away, shows that it was recorded around the time of the first video.

This, therefore, appears to confirm that the school was impacted before the wave of attacks seen in video two.

Iranian media previously released images of munition remnants they claim they recovered from the school. 

Bellingcat was not able to verify where the remnants were originally found, but was able to identify them as Tomahawk missile remnants. The New York Times also confirmed this identification by matching the contract number on a remnant to a contract for the Tomahawk missile.

Bellingcat’s Carlos Gonzales, Jake Godin and Trevor Ball contributed research to this article.

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can do so here. You can also subscribe to our Patreon channel here. Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Bluesky here, Instagram here, Reddit here and YouTube here.

The post Two Waves of Bombing: New Videos Reveal Further Details About Iran School Strike appeared first on bellingcat.