Back-to-back Venezuela earthquakes kill at least 164, injure hundreds, acting president says

At least 164 people were killed and some 971 injured by a pair of powerful earthquakes that rocked Venezuela  Wednesday evening, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said early Thursday. The toll was likely to keep rising as rescuers were still searching collapsed buildings and emergency crews racing to access devastated areas. 

Communities across the South American country sustained damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblors had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5. The agency’s predictive modeling indicated the quakes could have killed thousands of people, with a 42% chance of at least 10,000 fatalities, though that is based on historical averages and does not take into account many factors specific to this event.

La Guaira, on the nation’s northern coast, apparently was the hardest hit state, Rodriguez said.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed and we are engaged in the arduous task of rescuing the lives that God allows us to save. The state of La Guaira is facing a true tragedy and has become a disaster zone,” she said.

The earthquakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, roiled the region, with buildings evacuated in cities and areas impacted as far as Brazil’s Amazon about 1,050 miles from Venezuela’s capital of Caracas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media early Thursday that, at President Trump’s direction, the U.S. is deploying search teams, medical resources and humanitarian aid to Venezuela.

Rubio spoke with Rodriguez and offered the full assistance of the U.S., a State Department official told CBS News, adding that those efforts were already underway. Rodriguez later confirmed the call in a social media post.

Earlier, Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that, “The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths. The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have 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!”

Jeremy P. Lewin, the U.S. undersecretary of state for foreign assistance, said the State Department had mobilized a disaster assistance team and task force to coordinate the aid in coordination with the interim Venezuelan government.

Offers of help came from governments including those of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay.  

In a brief address to the nation late Wednesday, Rodriguez declared a state of emergency.

The quakes damaged the country’s main airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport, severely enough to lead to its closure, she said, adding that classes at the nation’s schools were being canceled for several days.

“We urge our population to remain calm,” Rodríguez said. “We urge unity.”

Rodríguez also asked all healthcare professionals in the country to report to hospitals to assist anyone who was injured. The Ministry of Education late Wednesday said some schools would be used as shelters and donation centers.

In the coastal state of Falcon, Gov. Víctor Clark said 32 people had been hospitalized and more than four hours after the earthquake there were still 15 people trapped.

The first earthquake was centered 17.6 miles northwest of the town of Montalbán, the USGS said, and struck at a depth of 8.2 miles. It was preliminarily reported as a 7.1 magnitude quake before being upgraded to a 7.2. 

Less than one minute later, a second earthquake measuring at a magnitude of 7.5 struck just north of the first. It was centered about 21 miles northwest of Montalbán. 

“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet, this magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded just 39 seconds before by a 7.2 foreshock,” the USGS said.

The quakes briefly triggered tsunami advisories in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, per the National Weather Service’s U.S. Tsunami Warning System. Those advisories were later canceled. 

People remained on the streets of Caracas for hours, even after sunset. Some sat on the ground hugging their pets as dust gathered around them. Collapsed buildings, toppled electric poles and debris blocked streets. Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone signal. 

The lack of cellphone signal in parts of Venezuela deepened the distress of many families, particularly those among the more than 7.7 million people who have left the country during its protracted crisis.

People evacuated swaying buildings in Caracas and remained outside, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, 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. 

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the Altamira neighborhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings. He urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.

“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,” Cabello said on state TV. “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.

Maria Alejandra, a woman who escaped a collapsed building in Caracas, told Reuters that “all the walls were cracked” when the earthquakes struck.  

“We managed to open the door however we could,” she said. “There was a cloud of smoke that wouldn’t let us see. And when we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie. We had to climb over the rubble and everything. The building superintendent with the baby and all the neighbors coming down. But from that building, I only saw that one family got out.”

An Agence France-Presse journalist saw a 22-story building completely destroyed in Caracas’ Altamira neighborhood, where people cried out relatives’ names as volunteers climbed over the rubble.    

“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” Caracas resident Hector Ricci said.  

“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.”

Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wrote on X, “My heart, my infinite embrace, and my prayers are with every Venezuelan home in these hours of anguish. May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult moment.”

Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapá in Brazil’s Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo.

The quakes were also felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. The Colombian Maritime Authority said in a statement that the country’s Caribbean coast wasn’t at risk of a tsunami.

Strong earthquakes are unusual in Venezuela.

While the country sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America. Along the Pacific coast — in Mexico and Chile, for example — earthquakes are frequent. Those two countries sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” responsible for 90% of earthquakes, according to the USGS.