Deadly double earthquake rocks Venezuela, kills at least 32 people

At least 32 people were killed and about 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela in rapid succession, sending residents into the streets of Caracas and forcing Delcy Rodríguez to declare a state of emergency as rescuers searched collapsed buildings.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the shaking at magnitude 7.1, then revised it to a 7.2 foreshock followed less than a minute later by a 7.5 mainshock. The epicenters were placed near Morón and the Yumare area on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, about 104 miles west of Caracas, and the agency’s red Pager alert warned that high casualties and widespread damage were probable. The mainshock produced violent shaking, with the strongest impacts expected where structures were already most exposed.

In Caracas, the damage cut into the city’s basic systems. Buildings collapsed, electricity went out in parts of the capital, and rescue workers picked through rubble while people gathered outside after the ground stopped moving. Simón Bolívar International Airport closed after severe damage, and Rodríguez canceled classes for several days.

The tremors were felt far beyond the capital. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued tsunami threats for Venezuela and parts of the Caribbean, including Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, before some alerts were lifted. Shaking was also felt in Colombia, and it reached Brazil’s Amazon region.

U.S. officials were in contact with Venezuelan authorities and were mobilizing assistance, while President Donald Trump pledged aid.