How NASA, Microsoft and the EU use AI to speed up post-quake rescues in Venezuela
Artificial intelligence is now a key ally for emergency crews. Space agencies, tech firms and international bodies use satellite images and AI to map the areas hardest hit by the quake.
As rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the rubble of the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela, another race is under way from space. Space agencies, tech companies and international organisations have activated a network of artificial intelligence and geospatial analysis tools to identify, within hours, the areas most likely to have been devastated and to help direct emergency resources where they are needed most.
One of the key players is NASA, which has activated its disaster response programme together with researchers at Oregon State University. Their task is to analyse radar images captured before and after the quake to detect abrupt changes in the ground and in buildings. Using this system, scientists estimate that nearly 59,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed, a preliminary figure that helps to steer the initial rescue efforts.
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However, those images would not be possible without the European Copernicus programme. The Sentinel-1 satellites, operated by the European Union and the European Space Agency, supply the high-resolution radar imagery that makes it possible to measure ground movements of just a few centimetres and to spot buildings whose shape has changed after the earthquake. That information is the raw material on which the artificial intelligence algorithms work.
Microsoft has joined that effort through its AI for Good lab. The company has developed computer vision models capable of automatically analysing thousands of satellite images to classify buildings according to the likelihood that they have been damaged. Rather than replacing teams on the ground, these models help set priorities and highlight which neighbourhoods should be inspected first.
All that information ultimately reaches those who need it thanks to the United Nations Centre for Humanitarian Data (HDX), the platform where Microsoft publishes its damage maps so that governments, NGOs and rescue teams can consult them almost in real time. This way, different organisations work from the same database and can better coordinate the humanitarian response.
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Experts stress that none of these tools replaces inspection on the ground. The maps generated by artificial intelligence provide probabilistic estimates, not a definitive diagnosis. But when thousands of buildings may have been affected and every hour counts in the search for survivors, having an almost instant snapshot of the disaster can make the difference between arriving in time and arriving too late.
All members of Venezuelan nu-metal band Van Der Dijs confirmed dead in devastating earthquakes
The band Van Der Dijs were in their rehearsal space at the time of the natural disaster.
All four members of Venezuelan nu-metal band Van Der Dijs have died following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on 24 June.
According to Venezuelan outlet Últimas Noticias, vocalist Manuel van Der Dijs, guitarist Gabriel Gómez, bassist Xander Hernández and drummer Abraham Foucault were killed after the Costamar II building where they were rehearsing in the coastal state of La Guaira collapsed.
La Guaira has been among the areas worst affected by the disaster. Their bodies were later recovered from the rubble by rescue teams.
Van Der Dijs were an emerging nu-metal band in Venezuela’s rock scene. They formed in 2024 and released their first single, 'Nemesis', later the same year. They released more singles, the latest being this year’s '15 Minutos' – released just one month ago
They had played a sold-out show at the Centro de Arte Moderno in La Castellana, Caracas, on 19 June, and their official Instagram page was promoting upcoming dates around the country.
The earthquakes that hit Venezuela registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 and caused widespread destruction across the country. They have left Venezuela facing a major humanitarian crisis. Hospitals are overwhelmed and rescue teams are continuing to search through collapsed buildings.
More than 2,290 people have been confirmed dead, with thousands more injured and many still missing.
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