164 Dead in Twin Venezuela Quakes      06/25 06:16

   

   CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- At least 164 people have died and 971 were 
injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President 
Delcy Rodrguez said Thursday, adding that rescue teams are rushing to the 
hardest-hit areas to free people trapped under rubble.

   Wednesday evening's 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the 
strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt 
throughout the region. The country's main airport was damaged and closed, while 
buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700 
kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

   Television broadcasts Thursday showed rescue workers using power tools to 
work their way into piles of rubble where buildings once stood. Panicked 
residents of the capital were sent pouring into the streets, and after the 
quakes many people walked among the debris searching for the missing among 
collapsed buildings and toppled electric poles.

   Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled 
from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodrguez described as a "disaster 
zone" and one of the areas hardest hit by the quakes because of the large 
number of collapsed buildings.

   Rodrguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of 
the country to La Guaira, which sits north of Caracas on the coast. She said 
officials were trying to make the most of the daylight hours to speed up 
efforts to rescue people believed to remain trapped under the rubble.

   "Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying 
out intensive rescue operations to save lives," Rodrguez said.

   Video shared online appeared to show dozens of people, some lying on the 
ground and others on hospital beds, being treated outside a hospital in La 
Guaira.

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

   Rodrguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment 
available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified 
by the United Nations were on their way to Venezuela to assist.

   Residents fled their homes in panic

   During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings in Caracas, many 
visibly shocked when they turned back to see destroyed walls that left 
furniture visible from the street. Columns of dust rose in two typically busy 
neighborhoods in the capital.

   "It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had 
to leave our houses, go outside and gather together," Caracas resident Hector 
Ricci said.

   Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged people to remain outside as 
aftershocks could further damage structures, and many people stayed on the 
streets for hours, some sitting on the ground hugging pets as dust gathered 
around them. Others spent the night in parked cars, subway stations and other 
public places.

   Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone coverage, and the earthquakes 
damaged and closed Simn Bolvar International Airport, the country's main 
airport, Rodrguez said.

   In Caracas, subway services were suspended and natural gas shut off, she 
said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of 
Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation 
centers.

   Roberto Gamas, another Caracas resident, said the building he was in "shook 
from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong."

   The lack of cellphone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of 
many families, particularly those among the more than 7.7 million people who 
have left the country during its protracted crisis and who struggled to reach 
relatives inside the country.

   On Thursday, scores of people took to social media asking for help finding 
loved ones, posting pictures of missing relatives and their last known location.

   Venezuela opposition leader Mara Corina Machado, herself in exile, sent 
wishes on X for "strength, serenity, and solidarity."

   Venezuela was hit twice by large quakes

   The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 
7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) 
west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).

   The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a 
depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 
miles) southwest of Moron.

   Several governments offered assistance

   Rodrguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late 
Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction 
fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and had instructed the 
economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.

   Offers of help poured in from countries around the world.

   U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said in a post on X early Thursday that the 
United States is "immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical 
resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela."

   Rodrguez -- who became acting president after an American military 
operation captured her predecessor, Nicols Maduro, and brought him to the U.S. 
to stand trial -- thanked U.S. President Donald Trump. She said in an X post 
later that she spoke with Rubio by phone without sharing details. She also 
expressed thanks to the leaders of various nations who have sent messages of 
support and offers of help.

   Ecuador ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid, and Rodrguez said Qatar, 
Mexico and El Salvador had already sent rescue personnel.

   "We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela," El 
Salvador President Nayib Bukele, once diametrically opposed to Venezuela's 
government, wrote in a post on X.

   Earthquakes impact the region

   Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil's Amazon were evacuated, 
according to reports on TV Globo. The quakes also were felt in Colombia's 
Caribbean and northeast regions.

   The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued several tsunami alerts that 
were quickly lifted.

   While uncommon in Venezuela, earthquakes are frequent along the Pacific 
coast, including in Mexico and Chile, which both sit along the seismically 
active tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, an area that the USGS says is 
responsible for 90% of earthquakes.