Thousands feared dead after monster Venezuela earthquakes; cities left in ruins

Survivors described scenes "like a horror movie" after twin earthquakes -- the most powerful to strike Venezuela in over a century -- devastated parts of the Latin American country. Buildings collapsed, families searched through rubble for loved ones, and rescuers worked through the night amid fears of high casualties.

In Short

• Twin earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 hit Venezuela
• Buildings collapsed, roads cracked, and 20 aftershocks followed main tremors
• La Guaira port city suffered heavy damage, leading to closure of airport there

"It was like a horror movie."

For Caracas resident Maria Alejandra, the Venezuelan capital she knew as a bustling city full of life suddenly looked like something out of an apocalyptic film.

Two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck Venezuela within 39 seconds of each other shortly after 6 pm local time on Thursday (3.30 am IST Friday), damaging buildings in the capital, Caracas, and triggering tsunami warnings across parts of the Caribbean.

The twin quakes were the most powerful to hit the Latin American country in over a century. While authorities have reported 32 deaths and 700 injuries so far, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated that the final death toll could range from 10,000 to 100,000.

Caracas was shrouded in dust as people desperately searched through rubble and debris for loved ones and familiar faces they had been with just moments earlier, amid the trail of destruction left by twin earthquakes.

"There was a cloud of smoke that wouldn't let us see. And when we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie. We had to climb over the rubble and everything," she told international news agency Reuters.

The city was filled with scenes of people rushing out of buildings and running helter-skelter through the streets of Caracas to escape collapsing structures and falling debris. After the series of earthquakes -- including at least 20 aftershocks ranging between magnitudes 4.9 and 6.4 -- subsided, the city was left reeling.

Buildings had collapsed, cracks appeared on many structures as well as on roads and highways, and distraught residents gathered in the streets as city officials, police and disaster response teams raced against time to clear the rubble in search of survivors trapped beneath.

The back-to-back quakes shook large parts of the country and caused heavy damage in Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira. Scientists warned that the scale of the destruction could lead to heavy casualties, but authorities had not released an official toll for deaths or injuries.

In Altamira, one of Caracas’s most affluent neighbourhoods, rescue workers, volunteers and worried relatives gathered outside collapsed residential buildings while excavators and emergency teams searched for survivors.

Among them was 61-year-old Jos Morillo, who rode across the city on his motorbike after learning that several members of his family had been inside a building known as Residencias Obelisco when the earthquakes struck, reported The Guardian.

“I came here riding my motorbike as fast as I could,” Morillo told The Guardian. “My brother, my son and nephews are all inside. I have faith. I believe in God a lot. I hope everyone is OK – but uncertainty is torture.”

As night fell, there were brief signs of hope amid the devastation. At about 9 pm (local time), rescue teams pulled a teenage girl alive from the wreckage and carried her into an ambulance. “It’s my niece! It’s my niece!” Morillo shouted as she was brought out, reported The Guardian.

Nearby, 56-year-old teacher and volunteer Olky Barrero was among dozens of residents helping emergency responders search through the debris. “It was horrible,” Barrero told The Guardian. “We hope to God that there are as few victims as possible. We’re praying.” Barrero added: “Where I was, it felt like the walls were going to fall on top of us. They were shaking back and forth, this way and that.”

The earthquakes also caused extensive damage in La Guaira, the coastal port city north of Caracas that is home to Venezuela’s main international gateway, Simon Bolvar International Airport. Authorities later closed the airport after reporting structural damage. Videos circulating online showed severe destruction at beachfront properties, including apparent major damage to Eduard’s Hotel Boutique, where parts of the building appeared to have been levelled by the tremors.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodrguez declared a state of emergency and extended condolences to the families of those killed, though she did not provide figures for deaths or injuries. Standing alongside National Assembly chief Jorge Rodrguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, she said emergency teams were continuing rescue operations across affected areas.

As rescue workers combed through collapsed buildings in Caracas late into the night, families waited anxiously for news of those still trapped. For many residents, the immediate reality remained one of fear, uncertainty and hope that those beneath the rubble would still be found alive.

- Ends