US mobilizes aid as Venezuela earthquakes kill hundreds

Rescue crews kept searching through rubble in Caracas, La Guaira, Morón and other hard-hit areas as the death toll from twin earthquakes climbed past 900. The quakes, a magnitude 7.2 followed about 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5, struck on June 24 and were the strongest to hit the country in more than a century.

The disaster landed just as Venezuela had begun showing signs of economic improvement after years of collapse under Nicolás Maduro. Preliminary United States Geological Survey estimates put earthquake-related losses at as much as 7 percent of gross domestic product. Venezuela was already burdened by sanctions, defaulted debt and one of the deepest contractions in modern history.

By the middle of the week, Venezuelan authorities were still counting the dead while families waited for word on relatives missing or trapped in collapsed buildings. Earlier in the crisis, the toll stood at at least 235 dead and more than 4,300 injured. The second quake was centered southwest of Morón at a depth of 10 kilometers, and the shaking left widespread damage across central and northern Venezuela, including San Felipe and Yaracuy.

The United Nations said 25 international teams, with about 1,000 personnel in total, had been mobilized, and aid began arriving from several countries. China and Brazil sent humanitarian supplies, Qatar prepared a rescue brigade and other foreign crews joined the search for survivors. President Donald Trump pledged rapid U.S. help, and the administration moved to ease some sanctions to facilitate relief efforts. Venezuela was carrying at least $150 billion in defaulted debt and liabilities measured at more than 200 percent of GDP.