Venezuela was struck by two powerful earthquakes that killed at least 32 people and injured more than 700 on Wednesday evening, according to a preliminary toll released by the country’s authorities.
Officials heavily fear more casualties, particularly in the coastal state of La Guaira near Caracas, which has been severely affected by the double earthquake. In the capital of this Latin American country of nearly 30 million inhabitants, rescue workers and residents were seen searching through buildings reduced to rubble, pulling survivors from the debris and carrying them away on stretchers.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced a nationwide state of emergency, confirming the initial reports of 32 deaths and more than 700 injuries during a message to the nation. She specified that these numbers did not yet include data from La Guaira, which she described as the hardest-hit region and a true disaster zone. She also noted that Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía suffered severe infrastructure damage and has been closed. Faced with this unfolding disaster, the United States announced the immediate dispatch of rescue workers and humanitarian aid, with US President Donald Trump offering full solidarity to Venezuela following phone discussions between Ms. Rodriguez and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A massive international response is taking shape as China and India also offered immediate assistance, while several Latin American nations, including Mexico and Ecuador, expressed their deep solidarity and deployed emergency teams. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a rare seismic doublet occurred when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Wednesday at 6:04 p.m. local time at a depth of 21.9 km, about 160 km west of Caracas near Morón, followed a mere 39 seconds later by a stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake at a shallow depth of 10 km. More than twenty aftershocks have since rattled the region, complicating ongoing emergency efforts.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated that several buildings had collapsed across the capital and indicated that he had ordered the gas supply to be shut off to prevent any further accidents. Following the tremors, thousands of panicked citizens rushed into the streets and waited outside late into the evening, terrified of returning to their homes or offices due to the consecutive aftershocks. The intense tremors caused widespread alarm across the region and were felt as far away as the Colombian capital of Bogotá, located roughly 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter.
AK/Sf/fss/abj/APA with AFP