Powerful Twin Earthquakes Rattle Venezuela

Back-to-back earthquakes have killed at least 164 people in Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on Thursday, 25 June.

According to reports, in Caracas, rescuers are still picking through the rubble, and people have been heard calling for help from under collapsed buildings.

The two quakes struck just seconds apart on the evening of 24 June, sending residents pouring into the streets in panic.

The first, a magnitude 7.2 tremor, hit at around 6:04 pm local time, roughly 14 miles southeast of Yumare in Yaracuy state. Barely 39 seconds later, a stronger 7.5 quake followed. That second tremor is now the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900.

Rodríguez said La Guaira state, just north of Caracas, was the worst hit. “Dozens” of buildings have come down there, and the death toll is expected to rise. Nearly 1,000 people have been injured across the region.

Early footage showed apartment blocks reduced to debris and roadways strewn with rubble. Emergency crews are working through the night, and rescue teams from other countries are due to arrive in Venezuela overnight, according to Rodríguez. She declared a state of emergency late on 24 June.

The US Geological Survey warned that “high casualties and damage are probable, and that the disaster is likely widespread.” Aftershocks, including some with strong shaking, are likely.

A tsunami threat was briefly issued for Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands, but was later cancelled.

Venezuela sits on a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate. The USGS said the 7.5 quake was caused by “shallow strike-slip faulting” near that complex boundary.

Rodríguez, who has been acting president since US forces abducted President Nicolás Maduro, said she would ask multilateral organisations for funds to support recovery efforts.

International leaders, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and the Dominican Republic’s Luis Abinader, have offered condolences and support. The US State Department said it was in contact with Venezuelan authorities and mobilising assistance.

Related:

Private Hospitals Banned From Denying Emergency Treatment To Patients, Regardless Of Whether They Can Pay Govt orders local authorities to crackdown on dilapidated buildings