Venezuela earthquake kills at least 188, injures hundreds more, officials say

At least 188 people died and another 1,500 were injured in two powerful earthquakes that shook Venezuela on Wednesday night, the president of the National Assembly said on Thursday. The number would keep rising as the rescuers continued to search for fallen buildings and emergency workers raced to reach the devastated areas.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5.

The agency’s forecasting model showed that the earthquake could kill thousands of people, with a 42% chance of at least 10,000 deaths, although that is based on historical estimates and does not take into account many factors specific to this event.

Communities across the country were devastated. La Guaira, on the country’s northern coast, was apparently the most affected region, said Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez.

“Many buildings have collapsed and we are busy with the difficult task of saving the lives that God allows us to save. The situation in La Guaira is facing a real disaster and has become a disaster zone,” he said.

The earthquake, among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, shook the region, moving buildings from affected towns and villages into the Brazilian Amazon about 1,050 miles from Venezuela’s capital Caracas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media earlier Thursday that, at the behest of President Trump, the US is sending search teams, medical supplies and humanitarian aid to Venezuela.

Rubio spoke with Rodriguez and offered full US assistance, a State Department official told CBS News, adding that those efforts are already underway. Rodriguez later confirmed that call in a social media post.

Earlier, Mr. Trump wrote in his Public Truth forum: “The two major earthquakes that have just hit the great people of Venezuela are both large in scale and left a terrible number of deaths. The USA stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have ordered all branches of our government to be ready to move quickly. We will be there to have our new and great friends. The early reports are wrong! “

Jeremy P. Lewin, under secretary of state for international assistance, said the State Department has assembled a disaster relief team and a task force to coordinate this assistance in cooperation with the interim government of Venezuela.

Aid came from governments including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay.

In a brief address to the nation late Wednesday, Rodriguez declared a state of emergency.

This earthquake damaged the country’s main airport, the Simón Bolívar International Airport, so much that it even led to its closure, he said, adding that classes in the country’s schools were canceled for several days.

“We urge our people to calm down,” said Rodríguez. “We call for unity.”

Rodríguez also asked all health professionals in the country to report to hospitals so that anyone injured can be helped. The Ministry of Education late Wednesday said some schools will be used as shelters and donation centers.

Two strong earthquakes within a minute of each other

The first earthquake was located 17.6 kilometers northwest of the city of Montalbán, the USGS said, and struck at a depth of 8.2 miles. It was previously reported as a 7.1 magnitude quake before it was upgraded to 7.2.

Less than a minute later, a second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck just north of the first. It was centered 21 kilometers northwest of Montalbán.

“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet, this 7.5 magnitude earthquake was preceded by 39 seconds before the 7.2 foreshock,” the USGS said.

The quake briefly prompted tsunami advisories for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, according to the National Weather Service’s US Tsunami Warning System. Those advisories were later withdrawn.

People live in the streets of Caracas for hours, even after sunset. Others were sitting on the ground hugging their pets as the dust filled them. Fallen buildings, downed power poles and debris blocked roads. Parts of the capital have lost power and mobile signal.

The lack of cell phone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of many families, especially those among the more than 7.7 million people who have fled the country during the protracted crisis.

People evacuated the moving buildings in Caracas and lived outside, many were shocked as they saw all the walls that had collapsed, leaving furniture visible on the street. Columns of dust can also be seen in two areas of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are usually busy.

The Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, said that the Altamira area of ​​Caracas has “shocking conditions” of collapsed houses and buildings. He urged people to stay outside because the earthquake could damage some buildings.

“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to the regulations so that relief and rescue efforts can be implemented to help those who need it most,” Cabello said on state TV. “Be very careful with children and old women, call each other and see if anyone is injured.”

He also urged people to stay outside because the earthquake may damage some buildings.

Maria Alejandra, a woman who escaped from a collapsed building in Caracas, told Reuters that “all the walls were cracked” when the earthquake struck.

“We were able to open the door however we were able to,” he said. “There was smoke that didn’t allow us to see. And when we came down, the scene was like a horror movie. We had to climb over the debris and everything. The superintendent of the building and the child and all the neighbors came down. But in that building, I saw that only one family came out.”

An Agence France-Presse reporter saw a 22-story building completely destroyed in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, where people cried out the names of relatives as volunteers picked through the rubble.

“It started well and slowly grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and come together,” said Caracas resident Hector Ricci.

“The building was really shaking from side to side. It’s unusual. The force was incredibly strong,” said Caracas resident Roberto Damas. “We were walking and it threw us, everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out.”

Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wrote on X, “My heart, my endless hugs, and my prayers are with all the homes of Venezuela in these hours of grief. May strength, calm, and unity prevail among us in this difficult time.”

In the video message, he encouraged people to help in any way. “We also receive endless gifts of charity from Venezuelans abroad,” said Machado, adding, “We must help to distribute those goods in an effective way. We must accompany, comfort those who are alone, the elderly who have lost everything, their homes, and their possessions. The missing children are the relatives of the elderly.”

Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapá in the Brazilian Amazon have been evacuated, according to TV Globo reports.

The quake was also felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeastern regions, but no damage or injuries were reported. The Colombian Maritime Authority said in a statement that the country’s Caribbean coast is not at risk of a tsunami.

Strong earthquakes are not uncommon in Venezuela.

While the country sits along many fault lines, its position leading to the South American and Caribbean plates makes earthquakes less common than other parts of Latin America. Along the Pacific coast – in Mexico and Chile, for example – earthquakes are common. Those two countries sit along a seismically active tectonic belt known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” which accounts for 90% of earthquakes, according to the USGS.