Deadly Venezuela double quake kills 164, devastates coastal cities

A shallow magnitude 7.5 quake ripped through Venezuela’s northern coast just 39 seconds after a magnitude 7.2 foreshock, collapsing buildings across coastal cities and leaving rescuers digging through rubble for survivors. Authorities said at least 164 people were dead and 971 were injured, with many more still feared trapped under debris.

The U.S. Geological Survey described the back-to-back shocks as a rare seismic doublet. The larger quake struck near Morón at a depth of about 10 kilometers, a combination that helps explain why the damage was so severe and why residents had little or no time to evacuate before the second shock hit. More than 20 aftershocks followed, keeping emergency crews on edge as they worked through the night and into Thursday.

The destruction spread well beyond the epicenter. Officials said the quakes were felt across Caracas, where panic swept the capital and forced the closure of the city’s main airport. La Guaira state was described as a disaster zone after multiple buildings collapsed there, and damage was also reported in areas including Caracas Metropolitan District, Yaracuy and Carabobo. Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, said rescue teams were racing to the hardest-hit areas as search operations continued.

The scale of the shaking placed the disaster among the strongest earthquakes to strike Venezuela in more than a century. The U.S. Geological Survey said the larger quake was the country’s strongest since 1900, underscoring how rare and destructive the sequence was. The timing of the foreshock and mainshock, combined with the shallow depth, exposed how vulnerable coastal communities remained to a major seismic event despite the country’s long history with earthquakes.

The government responded by declaring a state of emergency and announcing a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged in the disaster. U.S. officials and other countries signaled support for aid and search-and-rescue efforts as crews pressed on in the worst-hit zones, where collapsed buildings left the casualty count likely to rise further.