Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188

Caracas, Venezuela – Venezuelans searched for survivors under collapsed buildings on Thursday and rescue teams rushed to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. It is feared that there will be more deaths.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest earthquakes Venezuela has seen in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. About 1,500 people were injured and thousands were missing across the country. Officials said the coastal area of ​​La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, saw some of the heaviest damage and losses.

Buildings were evacuated as far away as the Brazilian Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas, where the country’s main airport was damaged and closed.

In the cities of northern Venezuela, terrified residents poured into the streets, and many walked through the rubble in search of the missing. Television footage showed rescue workers using power tools to get past piles of rubble.

In La Guaira, retired teacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through the rubble and passed a body when he discovered a trapped woman and gestured to her for help.

“Oh my God, let them save her as soon as possible,” Mindaño said. “When we heard the screaming, there was nothing we could do.”

In another damaged residential complex, residents chanted the names of the missing: “Myrna! Marcoitos!”

Offers of assistance poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which arrested Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The natural disaster is the latest challenge facing acting President Delcy Rodriguez, a former vice president who took office in January after Maduro’s arrest. Venezuela has been facing economic chaos for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement that Rodriguez represents.

Rescue teams are heading to the severely affected coastal area

Jorge Rodriguez, head of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of the acting president, provided updated figures on Thursday for the number of dead, trapped and wounded.

Delcy Rodriguez said authorities were transporting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which she described as a “disaster area.”

She added: “Dozens of buildings have collapsed there… and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives.”

Civilians and authorities pulled injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood from under the concrete rubble. Some families cried in grief in front of their destroyed homes.

Rodriguez appealed to companies to provide heavy construction equipment for rescue operations, adding that UN-certified search and rescue teams were on their way to help.

While Venezuela is located near multiple fault lines, its location straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 7.2, struck west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers west of Caracas, the US Geological Survey said. Its depth was 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, the USGS reported a second magnitude 7.5 earthquake, 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) deep and centered 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.

Officials urged people to stay outside because aftershocks could cause more damage.

Residents of Venezuela suffer from two strong earthquakes

During earthquakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned on Thursday morning when they saw buildings turned into skeletons, furniture hanging from windows, and helicopters flying overhead.

In La Guaira, Christian Carreño stared at his charred building leaning precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “I think there are people still inside who haven’t been able to get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Diana Delgado, a mother of three children, said she feels desperate because her 8-year-old son is missing. Delgado asked about the whereabouts of the heavy machinery promised by government officials, noting that the neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.

“I want to know where my child is, if he is trapped or in a shelter,” she said.

Authorities warned people not to return to their homes that sustained structural damage. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night gathering in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said Maria Cristina Diaz, a 41-year-old cleaner. “My mother, my daughter, and I felt cold. We did not sleep for a single minute.”

“It was horrific. We cried and screamed. Fortunately, we are alive,” she added.

Rodriguez said that parts of the capital were cut off from electricity and mobile phone service. She added that metro services were suspended and natural gas was cut off. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said that some school buildings will be used as shelters and donation centers.

Families began posting missing persons posts with photos of their loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for people still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad have difficulty communicating with their relatives.

The United Nations Human Rights Mission in Venezuela has called on the government to lift local restrictions on social media so that people can have timely access to potentially life-saving information. In August 2024, Maduro ordered a ban on X in an attempt to suppress information sharing among those who rejected his claim of winning the presidential election in July.

Several governments have offered assistance

Rodriguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said that the government had established a reconstruction fund worth $200 million for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and instructed the Ministers of Economy and Finance to supervise these efforts.

Countries from all over the world, from Qatar to Mexico, have begun sending aid to Venezuela. Rodriguez expressed his thanks for the messages of support and offers of assistance.

International search and rescue teams are expected to begin arriving in quake-hit Venezuela “in the coming hours,” a UN spokesman said early Friday afternoon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodriguez in the aftermath of the quake, said the United States was “immediately” deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources and other assistance, though he acknowledged that closing the airport in Caracas created some logistical challenges.

The United Nations said Thursday afternoon that international search and rescue teams are expected to arrive in Venezuela in the coming hours.

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Garcia Cano reported from Bogotá, Colombia, and Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers Ana Catherine Brigida in Mexico City, Danica Cotto in San Juan, Clara Brave in Buenos Aires, Astrid Suarez in Bogotá, Colombia, and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.