A state of emergency has been declared amid reports of widespread destruction in Caracas and La Guaira
Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast less than a minute apart on Wednesday, damaging multiple buildings in Caracas.
The first measured magnitude 7.2, followed shortly afterward by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
Videos from the scene show large cracks in the walls of high-rise buildings and smoke rising from the streets. Some buildings appear to have been almost entirely destroyed.
Although the authorities have not released any casualty figures, there are fears that people may have been killed as rescuers race to clear the rubble.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was located about 21 km west of the city of Morón on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. The earthquake was felt across several regions of Venezuela, as well as in neighboring Colombia.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said several structures, including residential buildings, had collapsed in the capital’s Los Palos Grandes and Altamira neighborhoods. He added that emergency services had been mobilized to respond to the damage.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, calling on all doctors and nurses to report to hospitals.
Cabello said that, apart from the capital, the earthquake had been “strongly felt” in the states of Aragua, Carabobo, La Guaira, Miranda, Trujillo, and Yaracuy.
El Diario reported several injuries in Guatire, a city east of Caracas.
A video shows people fleeing Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, as the earthquakes struck.
Footage posted on social media appears to show extensive damage to buildings in La Guaira, a city on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.
The deadliest earthquake in Venezuela’s recent history struck in 1967, killing around 300 people and injuring some 1,600 in Caracas. Another earthquake in the country’s northeast in 1997 killed at least 81 people.
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