Venezuela woke to a catastrophe that turned neighborhoods into debris fields: hundreds of people were believed trapped and many more were still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes tore through areas in and around Caracas, killing nearly 190 people, wrecking hundreds of buildings and forcing thousands from their homes.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck about 160km west of Caracas on Wednesday evening, and less than a minute later a second, stronger magnitude 7.5 tremor hit — the most powerful quake recorded since 1900, according to the US Geological Survey.
The back-to-back shocks battered a country already strained by years of economic turmoil. With infrastructure weakened and resources limited, rescue crews faced added difficulty as aftershocks continued to rattle the capital and nearby coastal areas.
Jorge Rodriguez, who leads Venezuela’s national assembly and is the brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, said yesterday afternoon that authorities had confirmed 188 deaths. He added that 200 people were trapped and that 1,520 had been hospitalised.
He said 250 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
People search for survivors while others try to salvage belongings in a collapsed building
Among the structures reported to have suffered severe damage were at least eight hospitals, the Venezuelan Red Cross headquarters and the French embassy.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said about 70,000 families in La Guaira state had been affected.
‘Disaster zone’
La Guaira — the coastal state next to Caracas and home to the capital’s main airport — emerged as one of the areas hit hardest.
“It has become a disaster zone,” acting President Rodriguez said, adding that the government was working with private companies to bring in heavy machinery to accelerate rescues.
Power remained limited in parts of the state, and the Caracas airport was shut after sustaining damage.
Videos shared by witnesses from inside the terminal captured frantic moments as ceiling panels fell.
Emergency workers and volunteers pressed on through the night, searching the ruins of collapsed buildings. In some communities, however, residents said official assistance was slow to arrive.
The earthquakes struck 160km west of Caracas
In La Guaira city, resident Yamileth Jimenez said her 19-year-old son remained trapped beneath the wreckage of their seven-story apartment building.
“He’s under the slabs and there’s no machinery to get him out,” Ms Jimenez said, adding that her father had died three days earlier.
Across the city, volunteers clawed through rubble with bare hands as families waited anxiously for word on missing relatives.
On the Caracas-La Guaira highway, a steady flow of civilians moved toward the coast carrying water, food and medicine, stepping in as the sheer scale of destruction overwhelmed initial rescue operations.
“We lost everything. We have no food or medicines … We hope help arrives quickly,” said Pedro Perez, 64, an upholstery workshop owner who said he had lost both his home and business and was sleeping on the street with his wife and children.
Residents rush from homes
The quakes struck on a public holiday, when many Venezuelans were at home.
As buildings shook, residents poured into the streets across Caracas and nearby coastal towns, some watching structures sway and others collapse.
“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a Caracas resident who did not give her surname.
Closer to the epicenter, in Moron — a seaside town in Carabobo state — houses crumpled, and residents reported being left without water or electricity.
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck
In Moron, about 200 families living in a damaged residential complex were trying to salvage what they could, hauling out mattresses, televisions and washing machines.
Some said they would stay with relatives, while others waited for the government to open shelters.
Website shows more than 46,000 people unaccounted for
US Geological Survey predictive modeling suggested the toll could climb into the thousands, with a significant probability it could exceed 10,000.
A website set up to track missing people and circulated by opposition leaders listed more than 46,000 people as unaccounted for shortly after 7pm (midnight Irish time).
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Governments around the world pledged assistance, including some that have opposed Venezuela. The country has endured decades of international isolation amid escalating political repression, economic collapse and diplomatic pressure.
Ms Rodriguez said international rescue teams were expected to arrive soon and offered thanks to leaders including US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Washington moved to ease sanctions, authorizing transactions tied to earthquake relief that would otherwise be barred.
Mr Trump said the United States was “ready, willing and able to help.”
The head of Venezuela’s national assembly said 188 people had been confirmed dead
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would dispatch rescue teams, while the Pentagon would assist with logistics and support the damaged Caracas airport.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the organisation was coordinating international rescue teams and warned that “a massive collective effort” would be required in a country where eight million people needed humanitarian assistance even before the quake.
The UN’s Venezuelan human rights mission urged the government to lift restrictions on some social media, saying connectivity was a “matter of life and death.”
SpaceX’s Starlink said it would provide free service through 25 July for new and existing customers in affected areas, and said it was working to deploy terminals to the hardest-hit zones to help restore communications.
In the economically vital oil sector, foreign energy companies said operations had not suffered major disruption and that oil infrastructure appeared largely spared.
