Rescue workers and volunteers searched frantically through collapsed buildings across northern Venezuela on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes devastated.
The country, killing around 235 people and injuring at least 4,300, according to the country’s health ministry. Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said many victims either died before reaching hospitals or succumbed to their injuries upon arrival.
“Unfortunately, around 235 people arrived without vital signs or died after reaching our health facilities,” Alvarado told state media.
Authorities warned that the death toll is likely to rise as thousands remain missing following the twin earthquakes – measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 – that struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening. The tremors, among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, were felt across much of northern South America, with evacuations reported as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region.
RESCUE EFFORTS INTENSIFY
The coastal state of La Guaira, home to Venezuela’s main international airport, suffered some of the worst destruction. Damage to the airport has complicated relief operations, even as emergency teams from across the country and abroad began arriving in the disaster zone.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and appealed to private companies to provide heavy machinery for rescue operations.
“Our priority is to rescue as many survivors as possible,” Rodríguez said, describing La Guaira as a “disaster zone.”
She also announced a $200 million reconstruction fund to rebuild damaged homes, hospitals and public infrastructure.
Across Caracas and nearby coastal towns, residents joined rescue efforts with little equipment, digging through rubble in search of trapped relatives and neighbours.
Dayana Delgado, whose eight-year-old son remained missing, questioned the pace of the official response.
“I want to know where my child is—whether he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said, adding that residents, rather than heavy rescue crews, were clearing debris.
Television footage showed emergency workers pulling survivors from collapsed structures, including a woman trapped beneath a concrete slab. Other scenes captured grieving families as victims’ bodies were recovered from the rubble.
INTERNATIONAL AID UNDERWAY
The United States eased certain sanctions on Venezuela until October 23 to facilitate earthquake relief and humanitarian transactions that would otherwise be restricted.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was deploying search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies and other emergency assistance despite logistical challenges caused by damage to Venezuela’s main airport.
Several countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Qatar and the Dominican Republic, also pledged assistance, sending rescue personnel, canine teams, medical equipment, drones and emergency supplies.
A RARE BUT DEVASTATING DISASTER
According to the US Geological Survey, the first earthquake measured magnitude 7.2 and struck near Morón, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometres. Roughly a minute later, a stronger magnitude 7.5 quake hit nearby at a shallower depth of 10 kilometres, amplifying the destruction.
Geophysicist Marcos Ferreira of the Geological Survey of Brazil said the back-to-back tremors dramatically intensified ground shaking.
“The second earthquake effectively amplified the seismic energy released by the first, increasing the destructive impact,” he explained.
Large parts of Caracas experienced power outages and disruptions to mobile phone services. Metro operations were suspended, gas supplies were shut off and schools were closed, with several campuses converted into temporary shelters and aid distribution centres.
Families posted photographs of missing relatives across affected neighbourhoods and on social media, while Venezuelans living overseas struggled to establish contact with loved ones as communication networks remained patchy.
Comments are closed.