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The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes has risen to at least 164, with 971 people injured, interim president Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160km (100 miles) west of Caracas at around 6pm on Wednesday (local time), followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Venezuela’s strongest earthquake since 1900 sent rescuers and locals clambering in the dark over flattened buildings, hunting for survivors and extracting people from under the ruins.
Around 30 aftershocks have been recorded following the two strongest quakes, according to Rodriguez. She described La Guaira, located near the capital, as the “hardest-hit region”.
Venezuela’s interim leader had earlier declared a state of emergency as the two earthquakes caused buildings in the capital to crumble and forced the closure of the country’s main airport.
“High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS said, initially estimating the death toll would most likely range from 10,000 to 100,000.
According to the USGS, the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that hit Venezuela was the most powerful since Oct 29, 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude quake hit offshore.
After Wednesday’s shock, some residential buildings showed large cracks and fallen walls, with dozens of others destroyed, according to AFP reporters. Local officials and witnesses reported collapsed buildings, rescues and a growing number of injured.
“We have buildings, homes and houses which have collapsed and we are taking care of things with everything we have available in terms of security, civil assistance,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television.
“The fire department, police, all have been activated.”
Video footage showed emergency workers climbing through the ruins of a collapsed building in the capital as night fell, while distraught relatives sought help for loved ones believed to be trapped.
In Chacao, an eastern Caracas municipality, Mayor Gustavo Duque told broadcaster Globovision that two structures had collapsed, 16 people were injured and there were deaths, though he gave no figure for fatalities.
“We’re going to do everything we can to rescue the most people possible,” he said.
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday marking an 1821 military victory that helped secure the country’s independence from Spain.
“As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming,” said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist in western Caracas.
“Everyone was running down the stairs.”
Residents across Caracas, which was also hit by a deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 1967, rushed to evacuate as buildings shook.
“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Coro Martinez, 56, who lives in eastern Caracas.
Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner in southern Caracas, said police helped her get out of her home. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.
Another resident, a 41-year-old office worker who declined to be named, said she received an earthquake alert on her phone just before the shaking intensified.
“It was a normal afternoon, and suddenly my phone sounded an earthquake alert,” she said. “As I picked it up and started listening to what it was saying, I first felt light shaking. Then, in less than two seconds, everything started moving.”
Interim President Rodriguez has been running the country since the US ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in January.
She has hailed a new era of cooperation with the US and other countries, especially on oil, mining and other industries.
The US embassy in Caracas said it was closely monitoring the aftermath of the quake and urged citizens in the country to seek secure shelter and avoid damaged areas.
US President Donald Trump said the two earthquakes had “left a devastating number of deaths,” without citing any official casualty figures.
“The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good.”
Fire trucks were seen on the streets of Caracas, where some buildings suffered significant facade damage.
At Caracas’ Hospital de Clinicas, staff were asked to double up on the night shift to help treat the injured, a worker there said. Video filmed at the hospital showed a darkened hallway with ceiling panels hanging by cables and pieces of plaster scattered across the floor.
Other videos on social media appeared to show significant damage at Venezuela’s main airport, while residents reported collapsed buildings in La Guaira, a coastal city near Caracas.
Reuters could not immediately verify the footage from the airport and La Guaira.
Some municipalities of Caracas canceled classes and local events through Monday, as authorities began to take stock of the damage.
The US Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat for Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands after the earthquake, and said hazardous waves could also affect Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. The warning was withdrawn about an hour later.
Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.
An estimated 30,000 people were killed when a powerful quake caused widespread destruction in the cities of Merida and Caracas in 1812, according to the USGS.
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