Venezuela earthquakes kill 164 as rescuers race to find survivors

Twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, killing at least 164 people and trapping many under rubble. The disaster crippled key services and triggered a major rescue effort with international support.

In Short

• La Guaira emerged as the worst-hit area, with dozens of buildings collapsing
• Rescuers used daylight, power tools and heavy machinery to reach survivors
• Aftershocks fears forced hundreds in Caracas to sleep in parks overnight

Rescue teams rushed on Thursday to parts of Venezuela hit hardest by two powerful earthquakes that killed at least 164 people, injured nearly 1,000 and left many trapped under collapsed buildings. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude tremors on Wednesday evening were among the strongest to hit the country in more than a century, damaging the main airport and sending shockwaves across the region.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said authorities were moving rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, on the coast north of Caracas, as officials tried to use daylight to speed up efforts to reach people still believed to be under the rubble. Tremors were felt as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700 kilometres from Caracas, and buildings were evacuated in several places.

Television footage on Thursday showed rescue workers using power tools to cut through piles of rubble where buildings once stood. In Caracas, panicked residents ran out of swaying buildings and later walked through debris searching for missing people among collapsed structures and fallen electric poles.

State TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, being pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodriguez described as a "disaster zone" and one of the worst-hit areas because of the number of collapsed buildings. "Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives," she said. Video shared online appeared to show dozens of people, some on the ground and others on hospital beds, being treated outside a hospital in La Guaira.

Rodriguez also appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue work, and said United Nations-certified search and rescue teams were on their way to Venezuela. Though Venezuela lies near several fault lines, earthquakes of this strength are much less common there than in other parts of Latin America because of its location between the South American and Caribbean plates.

Residents in Caracas described scenes of fear as dust rose over two usually busy neighbourhoods. "It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together," resident Hector Ricci said.

The US Geological Survey said the first quake, with a magnitude of 7.2, struck west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometres west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometres. A minute later, it reported a second quake of magnitude 7.5, at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre 16 kilometres south-west of Moron.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged people to stay outside because aftershocks could further weaken damaged structures. Many remained on the streets for hours, some sitting on the ground with their pets as dust settled around them. In central Caracas, hundreds spent the night in parks, car parks and other open spaces, while authorities warned people not to return to homes with structural damage.

"We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us," said Maria Cristina Diaz, a 41-year-old janitor. "My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn't sleep a wink; but I didn't want to spend the night alone at home after that terrible earthquake." She added: "It was awful. We cried, we screamed. Thankfully, we're alive." Diaz and her family went to Plaza Candelaria in central Caracas because it is one of the few open spaces near her home.

Parts of the capital lost power and mobile phone coverage, and the earthquakes damaged and shut Simón Bolvar International Airport, the country's main airport, Rodriguez said. She said metro services in Caracas had been suspended and natural gas supplies cut off. Classes were also cancelled for several days, and the Education Ministry said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centres.

By Thursday morning, many people in Venezuela and abroad were still trying to contact relatives. Families began putting up missing-person notices with photographs of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for people still unaccounted for. The UN human rights mission in Venezuela also urged the government to lift local restrictions on social media. "In the coming hours and days, timely access to reliable information and communication channels will be essential for the protection of the lives, safety, and well-being of the population," it said. In August 2024, then president Nicolas Maduro ordered X to be blocked in an attempt to stop the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Rodriguez declared a state of emergency late on Wednesday and said the government was setting up a USD 200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged in the earthquakes, with the economy and finance ministers told to oversee the work. Offers of help came from several countries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was "immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela". He added: "We will have a whole government response. It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective." Rubio also said one runway at Caracas' international airport had cracked, making landings difficult.

Rodriguez, who became acting president after an American military operation captured her predecessor, Nicolas, and took him to the US to stand trial, thanked US President Donald Trump. She later said on X that she had spoken to Rubio by phone, without giving details, and thanked leaders of other countries for messages of support and offers of help. Ecuador ordered humanitarian aid to be sent, and Rodriguez said Qatar, Mexico and El Salvador had already dispatched rescue personnel. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele wrote on X: "We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela."

As rescue teams focused on La Guaira and other badly affected areas, authorities in Venezuela were trying to pull survivors from the rubble, keep people away from damaged buildings and restore basic services after one of the country's strongest earthquakes in more than 100 years.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends