CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — According to Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a devastating pair of earthquakes has resulted in the deaths of at least 164 individuals and injured 971 others in Venezuela. The announcement came on Thursday.
On Wednesday evening, the country was struck by two major earthquakes, registering magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5. These tremors rank among the most significant seismic events Venezuela has encountered in over a hundred years. The impact was felt far and wide, with Brazil’s Amazon region, located approximately 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas, also experiencing the shockwaves.
State television broadcasted visuals showing the rescue of three children, dusty but alive, from the debris in La Guaira state. This region, identified by Rodríguez as a “disaster zone,” suffered extensive damage due to a high number of building collapses.
Rodríguez noted that rescue personnel from across the nation were being redirected to La Guaira, a coastal area situated north of Caracas. She emphasized that efforts were being intensified during daylight to locate and save those possibly still buried under wreckage.
“Numerous buildings have collapsed there… We are actively conducting extensive rescue operations to preserve lives,” stated Rodríguez.
Rodríguez appealed to the private sector to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to Venezuela to assist.
She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes and had instructed the economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.
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.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday, saying the quakes caused damage in several states.
Residents fled their homes in panic
Television broadcasts Thursday 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 neighborhoods 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 Simón Bolívar International Airport, the country’s main airport, Rodríguez said.
In Caracas, subway services were suspended and natural gas shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.
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 María Corina Machado, herself in exile, sent wishes on X for “strength, serenity, and solidarity.”
Venezuela was hit twice by large quakes
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).
The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Several governments offered assistance
Offers of help poured in from countries around the world.
U.S. 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.”
Rodríguez — who became acting president after an American military operation captured her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and brought him to the U.S. to stand trial — thanked U.S. 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 Rodríguez 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 diametrically opposed to Venezuela’s government, wrote in a post on X.
Earthquakes impact the region
Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil’s Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo. The quakes also were felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center 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.