At least 32 people have been killed and more than 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, causing widespread destruction, collapsing buildings and triggering panic across the country.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency after the twin quakes hit the same area of Venezuela on Wednesday. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquakes measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude.
In a national address early on Thursday, Rodriguez said the government had received reports of 32 deaths and more than 700 injuries. She added that officials were still gathering information from La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, which appeared to be among the worst-affected areas. She also said at least 20 aftershocks had followed the initial earthquakes.
Rescue teams and local residents searched through piles of rubble for survivors as emergency operations continued. In Caracas, an AFP journalist saw a 22-storey building completely destroyed in the Altamira district. Relatives called out the names of missing family members while volunteers climbed over the debris. “We need flashlights,” one rescuer said.
The first earthquake struck at 2204 GMT with an epicentre 21 kilometres west of the coastal town of Moron, according to the USGS. Less than a minute later, a second and stronger 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurred about 45 kilometres away. The agency said the second quake was part of a seismic doublet and had been preceded by a 7.2-magnitude foreshock just 39 seconds earlier.
The tremors caused extensive damage in Caracas and forced people into the streets. “The stairs came away; the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible,” said Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged residents to leave damaged buildings and said gas supplies had been cut to several properties as a precaution. “We have some damaged structures and we don’t want any kind of accident involving gas to occur,” he said.
Rodriguez said Maiquetia International Airport, near Caracas, had been closed after suffering serious infrastructure damage. Images shared on social media appeared to show significant destruction at the airport.
The earthquakes struck at depths of 22 kilometres and 10 kilometres, respectively. Witnesses described scenes of fear in shopping centres, offices and residential areas. Shopkeeper Heidi Romero, 42, was on the top floor of a shopping centre when the quake hit. “It was unbelievable; I don’t even know how long it lasted,” she said. “We went out through the emergency stairs; that’s how they got us out.”
In a middle-class hillside neighbourhood overlooking Caracas, administrator Carmen Guedez was caring for her bedridden sister when the tremors began. “It kept getting stronger,” she said. “I started to see the windows begin to move and then everything shook.” She said she huddled together with her sister and a neighbour because they were unable to leave the building, while many residents remained outside on the streets.
Cabello said the states of Trujillo, Carabobo, Miranda and La Guaira had suffered the most severe impacts.
The United States said it would provide immediate assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that search and rescue teams, medical resources and humanitarian aid were being deployed to Venezuela. US President Donald Trump said the earthquakes were “massive in scale” and had caused a devastating loss of life.
The tremors were felt beyond Venezuela’s borders, including in the Colombian capital Bogota, where alarms sounded and some residents evacuated buildings as a precaution. Freddy Tovar, coordinator of Colombia’s National Seismological Network, said authorities had received more than 200 reports of tremors across the country. He warned that aftershocks could continue and might be felt widely throughout Colombia.
Colombia’s disaster management agency, UNGRD, ruled out any tsunami threat. The US National Tsunami Warning Center also said there was “NO tsunami and NO danger from a recent earthquake”.
Venezuela has experienced several major earthquakes in recent decades. The strongest recent tremors occurred in the country’s northeast in 1997, killing 73 people. In 1967, an earthquake in Caracas claimed 236 lives.
Shortly after the Venezuelan earthquakes, a separate magnitude 7.2 tremor struck northern Japan. The country’s weather agency reported no casualties or significant damage.
