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A pair of powerful earthquakes shook Venezuela less than a minute apart Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital, Caracas, and killing at least 188 people.
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At least 1,520 people were injured, President of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said Thursday on state media. He added that at least 157 people are still missing and almost 3,000 families are impacted by the earthquakes.
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The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the first quake was near the town of San Felipe, about 100 miles west of the capital, and the second, larger quake, with a magnitude of 7.5, struck only 39 seconds later, near the town of Yumare.
“High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the agency wrote on its site.
The quakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.
They struck shortly after 6 p.m. local time.
The United States pledged to help, as did humanitarian organizations and several other countries, including China, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
President Donald Trump wrote on social media late Wednesday that he had “instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said the U.S. was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance.”
Rodríguez thanked Trump and the U.S. government, which she said had been in “permanent contact” with the Venezuelan government. She said later in an X post that she spoke with Rubio by phone but did not share details of the discussion.
She also expressed thanks to the leaders of various nations who had sent messages of support.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and announced on state television that the airport in Caracas was closed because of heavy damage. School and nonessential activities were suspended, she said.
She expressed condolences to Venezuelans who lost family members and noted that 20 aftershocks had been recorded. She noted that international support was on its way.
“What I ask is that we act in national unity, with calm and that we know, that together, we will overcome this tragedy,” the president said.
Rachell Sandoval was in her bedroom watching television when she felt her bed “shaking violently.” She told Noticias Telemundo she immediately dashed out of her room, looking for her 7-year-old son.
“I grabbed and hugged him — but at that moment, it was so intense that all I could think was, ‘What do I do? Do I go downstairs? Do I stay?’ I completely froze.”
Sandoval and her child stood under a doorframe until it stopped shaking. “It felt eternal,” she said. “I hear the windows rattling and people screaming.”
She added that she spent the night in her car with her son because the boy “is scared of going back into the apartment,” and they were barely able to sleep through the night because of the aftershocks.
The governor of Falcón, Víctor Clark, said workers were searching for 15 people in the rubble in his state, west of Caracas. Another 35 were injured, he said.
Lucy Jones, a seismologist and visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology, said Geological Survey predictions indicate it will be a severe event.
“This is one of the really great, very difficult, very damaging earthquakes, because you combined a very large event with residences of a lot of people,” Jones said in a video briefing.
In Caracas, people evacuated swaying buildings and remained outside, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls collapse, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy.
“The scene was like a horror movie,” a woman in the city told the Reuters news agency after she managed to open a door and leave her building. “We had to climb over the rubble and everything.”
Nelson Ospedales felt the earthquakes in his home in Caracas’ Altamira neighborhood. His house partially collapsed, and he’s now staying with a relative, he told Noticias Telemundo Ahora in Spanish.
“Material possessions can be recovered, but at this moment, the competent authorities — such as firefighters and civil defense — have been completely overwhelmed. They need more personnel,” Ospedales said. “Hospitals have become severely congested.”
A video posted online and verified by NBC News showed dust billowing across part of the Caracas skyline.
“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”
He also urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.
“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” Caracas resident Roberto Damas said. “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God, we were able to get out.”
The aid organization World Vision has people in Venezuela and said it was activating its emergency response.
With Wednesday a holiday in Venezuela, Luis Colmenarez, regional emergency content and communications specialist for the organization, said he was about four hours away from Caracas and watching the movie “Toy Story” with his sisters when the earthquakes struck.
“Halfway through the film, everything went dark and everything started to shake,” Colmenarez said in a statement, distributed by World Vision.
“The shaking lasted between two and three minutes — it felt endless,” he added. Colmenarez said there were many collapsed buildings and that people were in the streets and afraid to return to their buildings due to aftershocks.
Venezuela has already faced economic challenges and poverty, and the United Nations humanitarian affairs agency says almost 8 million of the country’s 28 million people were in need of assistance as of May.
Trump ordered a military raid into Venezuela in January to arrest its president, Nicolás Maduro, who is charged in the U.S. with narcotics trafficking.
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