Deadly twin earthquakes collapse buildings across Venezuela's La Guaira coast

Twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela less than a minute apart on June 24 shattered buildings across La Guaira, closed the country’s main airport and sent rescue crews and neighbors digging through rubble for survivors. The coastal state, about 30 kilometers northwest of Caracas, bore the worst of the damage, with people heard calling for help from collapsed structures in La Guaira, Catia La Mar and the capital.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said La Guaira was the hardest-hit state and declared a state of emergency. More than 100 buildings collapsed there, including multi-storey structures, while the shaking was strong enough to be felt in parts of Colombia and Brazil. Tsunami alerts were issued after the quakes as emergency workers tried to reach damaged neighborhoods and cut off areas near the coast.

The death toll climbed quickly as the search continued. One update put the number of dead at 188, with 1,520 injured and 157 people missing. The toll later rose to around 235 dead. Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said about 235 people arrived at health facilities without vital signs or died on arrival. The National Assembly president, Juan Alberto Mendaño, said about 3,000 families had lost their homes.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the quakes at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, a rare doublet that struck with little warning. Its modeling suggested the disaster could have killed at least 10,000 people in a worst-case scenario, with economic losses ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion.

Officials said the earthquakes were the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century.