CARACAS — Venezuela began a period of national mourning on Wednesday as rescue teams in the western states wound down their search for survivors following last week's powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake. The country's interior ministry confirmed the death toll had risen above 1,500.

The quake struck near the border between Trujillo and Mérida states, flattening apartment blocks and severing roads in mountainous terrain. President Nicolás Maduro's government declared three days of mourning and pledged emergency housing for tens of thousands left homeless, according to state broadcaster VTV.

Rescue crews backed by teams from Colombia and Cuba continued to comb collapsed structures in Valera and surrounding towns, though the head of Venezuela's civil protection agency said hope of finding survivors had all but vanished. Repeated aftershocks forced temporary evacuations of rescue sites on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The disaster has strained Venezuela's already fragile public health and infrastructure systems, with hospitals in the affected region reporting shortages of medicine and clean water. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was mobilising aid and appealed to donor nations for support.

Venezuela's geological service warned that further aftershocks remained likely along the Boconó fault for several weeks. Seismologists at the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research urged residents of damaged buildings not to return until structural inspections were completed.