Two very powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), struck Venezuela yesterday, Wednesday.
The earthquakes caused many buildings to collapse and sparked panic among residents in the capital, Caracas, while there are fears of many casualties. No official casualty toll has been announced so far.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared state of emergency, also announcing that the international airport serving the capital had sustained serious damage and that its operations were suspended until further notice. Ms. Rodrigues expressed her condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, though she refrained from providing any figures on the number of dead or injured.
Authorities have suspended school and train operations, according to the acting president.
According to USGS data, the first seismic tremor—described as a “foreshock”—measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, was recorded at 6:04 p.m. (local time; 01:04 Greek time) at a depth of 21.9 kilometers, about 200 kilometers west of Caracas. The second, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, with a shallow focal depth of 10 kilometers, followed 39 seconds later, 45 kilometers from there. Subsequently, about 20 strong aftershocks were recorded.
The USGS warned that this “double” earthquake poses a risk of causing “widespread” destruction and “thousands” of deaths.
In Caracas, Agence France-Presse photographers observed search and rescue efforts being organized around collapsed buildings. Rescuers were pulling people from the rubble onto stretchers, while others were transporting them to ambulances.
An AFP correspondent saw a 22-story apartment building that had collapsed and been completely destroyed in the Altamira neighborhood. Outside, people were shouting out the names of their loved ones, while some volunteers were climbing through the rubble. “We need flashlights,” one shouted as darkness fell.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed that buildings had collapsed in the capital and added that he had ordered the natural gas supply to be cut off.
“Some structures have been damaged, and we want to prevent any gas-related accidents,” he explained. He mentioned that there were injuries, but he has not yet provided a breakdown of the situation.
The situation remains unclear in the cities of Puerto Cabello and San Felipe, which are closer to the epicenter and home to more than 400,000 people.
“Unbelievable”
Many panicked residents rushed out into the streets. They remained there overnight, afraid to return for fear that houses and other buildings would collapse if there were more aftershocks.
“It was unbelievable; I don’t even know how long it lasted. I was on the top floor and things started falling,” said Heidi Romero, a 42-year-old store manager who works at a shopping center in Altamira. “The entire wall was covered in cracks; things were falling from the ceiling—it was horrible,” said Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee.
There were reports of power outages in the capital, where many streets were littered with broken glass.
Carmen Gedes, 69, was in her bedridden sister’s room when the ground began to shake. “The intensity just kept increasing,” said the resident of a middle-class neighborhood in the hills of the capital. “I started to see the windows shaking, then everything was shaking. My sister, a neighbor, and I were clinging to each other; we couldn’t get out,” she added.
Airport closed
The Simón Bolívar International Airport, in Maquetía, La Guaira, about 40 kilometers from Caracas, was closed “due to serious damage,” said Acting President Rodríguez in her address.
Images released by Congressman Wilmer Asuaje show sections of the roof having collapsed in an airport terminal and people running to escape inin panic.
The tremors were particularly strong in neighboring Colombia, whose capital, Bogotá, is, however, 1,000 kilometers away from Caracas as the crow flies. According to that country’s risk and disaster management agency, “there is no risk of a tsunami on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.”
The U.S. tsunami early warning system, for its part, reported a threat of potentially destructive waves striking Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, as well as islands off the coast of Venezuela (Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire). It withdrew the warning about an hour later.
