At least 164 people have been killed and more than 970 injured after twin earthquakes, the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, devastated areas near the capital, Caracas, authorities said Thursday.
Rescue workers and residents spent the night combing through the rubble of collapsed apartment buildings and damaged homes, searching for survivors and missing relatives after the powerful tremors struck on Wednesday evening.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit first at 2204 GMT, with its epicenter located about 21 kilometers (13 miles) west of the coastal town of Morón. Just 39 seconds later, a stronger magnitude 7.5 quake struck approximately 45 kilometers away.
USGS described the event as a rare seismic doublet, noting that the second earthquake was preceded by a magnitude 7.2 foreshock.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed that the death toll had risen to at least 164, with more than 970 people injured. The northern coastal state of La Guaira, near Caracas, suffered some of the worst damage.
In the city of Catia La Mar, devastated families gathered outside collapsed buildings, hoping for news of loved ones trapped beneath the debris.
“We have nothing, right now we have nothing, not even the strength or the courage to go in there, just imagine,” said Larry Rojas, 49, standing outside a ruined apartment block where members of his family remained trapped.
The coastal city was left without electricity, forcing many residents to spend the night on the streets or searching for relatives amid the destruction.
Witnesses reported extensive damage across affected communities, with residential buildings split by large cracks, walls reduced to rubble, and entire structures flattened. Dozens of buildings were reported destroyed.
“There are people alive in there and no one is coming to save them,” said one woman waiting anxiously for news of her daughter, who was believed to be trapped inside a collapsed 12-story building.
The disaster has prompted an international response. France announced it would dispatch 85 rescue personnel, while Spain pledged 54 military search-and-rescue specialists. China, India, Brazil, and the United States also offered assistance.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”
The magnitude 7.5 quake was the most powerful earthquake to hit Venezuela since October 29, 1900, when a magnitude 7.7 tremor struck offshore, making the latest disaster the country’s strongest seismic event in more than 125 years.
Rescue operations continued across the affected region on Thursday as emergency crews raced against time to locate survivors buried beneath the wreckage.
