Scenes of despair are unfolding throughout Venezuela following two devastating earthquakess measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which struck the country shortly after 6:00 p.m. local time.
In the capital Caracas and in the state of La Guaira, terrified residents have flooded the streets amid destroyed buildings and rubble from the most devastating earthquakes in the last 126 years.
At least 164 people have lost their lives and 971 have been injured, said Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. Rescue operations are continuing around the clock, as fears are growing that the death toll could reach the thousands as dawn breaks. The “Simón Bolívar” International Airport has sustained serious damage and hasbeen temporarily closed. In large parts of the capital , power and cell phone service have been cut off.
Panicked residents have taken to the streets and public squares, describing the earthquakes as a “loud roar.” Desperate cries can be heard amid the rubble, as people frantically shout the names of relatives and friends who are missing and believed to be trapped in collapsedbuildings, such as a 22-story building in Caracas.
Live footage from Reuters from the “disaster zone”—as it has been declared—in Caracas.
UN: More than 100 buildings collapsed in La Guaira following the earthquakes
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that more than 100 buildings have collapsed in La Guaira, a small coastal state north of Caracas that was hardest hit by the earthquakes.
According to the latest disaster response report, the scale of the disaster exceeds the capacity of local authorities, with the organization designating the area as a priority for international rescue teams.
As noted, “although the extent of the losses and humanitarian needs remains unclear, it is evident that the damage is severe.” The state of La Guaira, where the country’s main airport is located, has been declared a disaster zone, while it is estimated that the casualties may be significant and that further aftershocks are likely.
Citizens are turning to social media to locate missing persons
As search and rescue operations continue in Venezuela, social media has become a key tool for locating people missing in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
Names, photos, and addresses of missing persons are circulating widely online, with users seeking information about their whereabouts and trying to locate relatives and friends.
Meanwhile, the Central University of Venezuela has published a list of students missing after the quakes, many of whom were reportedly living in La Guaira, according to local media.
The newspaper El Carabobeño also published the names of 39 students reported missing by the university.
Video from Maiquetía International Airport captures the moment the two powerful earthquakes struck.
Fears of many casualties
According to the country’s president, at least 32 people have lost their lives and more than 700 have been injured by the two powerful earthquakes.
However, initial estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) suggest a very high death toll, widespread destruction, and the possibility of strong aftershocks in the coming hours. The agency’s models estimate a 44% probability that the death toll will exceed 10,000, while they estimate a 30% probability that the death toll will exceed 100,000.
According to USGS data, the first seismic tremor—the “foreshock,” as it was characterized—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. About 20 strong aftershocks were then recorded.
According to the USGS, this is a “double event” and a “disaster expected to be of significant scale.” “It is likely that the toll will be heavy and the damage significant,” it emphasized, noting that based on its prediction model, thousands of deaths are expected, while there is an increased likelihood that the number will exceed 10,000.
According to Delsi Rodriguez, “dozens of buildings have collapsed, and intensive rescue efforts are currently underway to save as many lives as God allows.”
Three people were killed in the Baruta neighborhood of Caracas, where two buildings collapsed, the mayor reported on social media.
“We have buildings, houses, and single-family homes that have collapsed, and we are dealing with the situation with whatever resources we have available,”, commented Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
The mayor of the Tsakao community in Caracas, Gustavo Duque, reported Wednesday night that at least four buildings collapsed as a result of the powerful earthquakes that shook the capital and other areas of Venezuela, while six more buildings have sustained significant damage and are currently being assessed.
Panic
Many panicked residents rushed out into the streets after the powerful earthquakes. They remained there overnight, not daring 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 whole 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.
Staff increase at the hospital
A tsunami warning was issued after the earthquakes, but it was quickly lifted.
At Hospital de Clínicas , orders were given to double the night shift staff in order to handle the large influx of injured patients.
Venezuela’s largest airport in Maicaeta, on the coast north of Caracas, has suspended operations due to the damage it has sustained, Rodríguez noted.
Classes at schools have been suspended for the rest of the week.
At least ten aftershocks
At least 10 aftershocks were recorded on Thursday morning, ranging from 2.4 to 4.5 on the Richter scale at shallow focal depths.
The Venezuelan Seismological Research Institute (Funvisis) reported 10 aftershocks, most of which occurred in the states of La Guaira and Miranda.
Of the total number of aftershocks, six were recorded in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas.
The earthquakes in Venezuela were also felt in Curaçao
The government of Curaçao reported that residents of the Caribbean island nation also felt the tremors from the earthquakes in Venezuela. There were no immediatereports of serious damage in the area.
Curaçao is located about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela and about 110 miles (180 kilometers) north of the earthquake epicenters.
Condolences
Delcy Rodríguez contacted Marco Rubio. “I had a phone conversation with the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Marco Rubio, who expressed his solidarity and support for the people of Venezuela during these difficult times for our country,” Rodríguez wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, leaders from countries such as El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Spain, China, and Brazil have offered their support.
Beijing is “willing to offer as much assistance as it can” to Venezuela, said the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiajun.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “his thoughts and support for the people of Venezuela”. “I express my deepest solidarity with the victims, their families, and all those who have mobilized on the ground,” Macron said in a post on social media.
Trump’s Condolences
In a post on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump noted that the U.S. is ready, willing, and able to help Venezuela: “The two major earthquakes that have just struck the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have caused a terrible number of deaths,” he wrote.
