At least 164 people have died, and 971 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday.
The acting president had said earlier that at least 32 people had died after Wednesday evening’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, and that the toll was expected to rise.
The quakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. Buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Acting President Delcy Rodriguez described as a “disaster zone” and the area hardest hit by Wednesday evening’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
Rodriguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday, saying the quakes caused damage in several states. She asked health care professionals to report to hospitals to assist the injured.
The casualty figures she released early Thursday - including at least 700 injured - excluded La Guaira, which sits north of Caracas on the coast, and so the numbers are expected to rise.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodriguez said.
Thursday’s television broadcasts showed rescue workers using power tools to work their way into piles of rubble. Many people searching for the missing appeared to be regular people, rather than professionals. Collapsed buildings, toppled electric poles, and debris blocked streets.
During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings in Caracas, many visibly shocked when they turned back to see destroyed walls that left furniture visible from the street. Columns of dust rose in two typically busy neighbourhoods in the capital.
“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” Caracas resident Hector Ricci said.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage structures, and many people stayed on the streets for hours, some sitting on the ground hugging pets as dust gathered around them. Others spent the night in parked cars, subway stations and other public places.
Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone coverage, and the earthquakes damaged and closed Simon Bolivar International Airport, the country’s main airport, Rodriguez said.
In Caracas, subway services were suspended and natural gas shut off, she said. Classes will also be cancelled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centres.
Roberto Gamas, another Caracas resident, said the building he was in “shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong.”
The lack of cellphone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of many families, particularly those among the more than 7.7 million people who have left the country during its protracted crisis and who struggled to reach relatives inside the country.
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, herself in exile, sent wishes on X for “strength, serenity, and solidarity.”
The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometres (about 14 miles).
The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a depth of 10 kilometres (about 6 miles) and an epicentre 16 kilometres (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Offers of help poured in from countries around the world.
US Secretary of State Rubio said in a post on X early Thursday that the United States is “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”
Rodriguez - who became acting president after an American military operation captured her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, and brought him to the US to stand trial - thanked US President Donald Trump. She said in an X post later that she spoke with Rubio by phone without sharing details. She also expressed thanks to the leaders of various nations who have sent messages of support and offers of help.
Ecuador ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid, and Rodriguez said Qatar, Mexico and El Salvador had already sent rescue personnel.
“We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela,” El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, once opposed to Venezuela’s government, wrote in a post on X.
Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil’s Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo. The quakes were also felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued several tsunami alerts that were quickly lifted.
While uncommon in Venezuela, earthquakes are frequent along the Pacific coast, including in Mexico and Chile, which both sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, an area that the USGS says is responsible for 90% of earthquakes.
Source: AP
--Agencies
