Rescue workers raced through the night Thursday to search for survivors after twin powerful earthquakes devastated Venezuela’s capital and surrounding regions, with officials warning the death toll could rise dramatically as thousands of people remained unaccounted for beneath collapsed buildings.
The disaster began Wednesday afternoon when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Caracas. Less than a minute later, a second, stronger magnitude 7.5 quake hit the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, unleashing widespread destruction across the capital and neighboring states.
Emergency crews climbed over unstable piles of concrete and twisted steel as desperate relatives gathered outside collapsed apartment buildings hoping for news of missing family members. Ambulances continued transporting injured survivors throughout the night while aftershocks complicated rescue operations.
“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” Caracas resident Maria Alejandra told Reuters.
“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.”
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said authorities had confirmed at least 164 deaths and nearly 1,000 injuries, while heavy machinery was being deployed alongside emergency responders to accelerate rescue operations for those believed trapped beneath collapsed structures.
The worst destruction occurred in La Guaira state, which borders Caracas and is home to the country’s principal international airport. Images circulating from the area showed collapsed buildings, damaged airport facilities and widespread destruction along the coastal district.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are currently carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us to save,” Rodriguez said during a televised address shortly before 1 a.m. local time.
“La Guaira state is a true tragedy, and has become a disaster zone.”
Near the earthquake’s epicenter in the coastal town of Morón in Carabobo state, homes collapsed while electricity and water services were knocked out. Municipal Mayor Emily Riera told Reuters that at least eight people, including three children, had died there.
The scale of the disaster could prove far greater than the official casualty figures currently indicate.
Using predictive modeling based on the earthquake’s magnitude, depth and population exposure, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated fatalities would most likely reach into the thousands, with a substantial probability that the eventual death toll could exceed 10,000.
A missing-person registry established by Venezuelan opposition figures showed more than 10,000 people listed as unaccounted for early Thursday morning, underscoring growing fears that many victims remain trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
Because the earthquakes struck during a public holiday, many residents were inside homes, apartment blocks and public buildings when the ground began shaking.
“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Coro Martinez, 56, who lives in eastern Caracas.
International assistance began mobilizing within hours of the disaster.
Rodriguez said foreign rescue teams were preparing to arrive and thanked several world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, for offering support. She also appealed for national unity as emergency services confronted one of Venezuela’s worst natural disasters in decades.
Trump described the destruction as devastating, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American search-and-rescue teams were being deployed alongside Pentagon resources to assist operations at the damaged airport.
Power outages persisted Thursday across several communities near Caracas, including El Junquito and La Guaira, further complicating rescue efforts as emergency personnel struggled to access damaged neighborhoods.
The United Nations human rights mission in Venezuela urged authorities to relax restrictions on social media and communications, arguing that restoring information flows could help locate missing people and coordinate relief efforts. Cellular service remained unreliable across much of the affected region.
Across Caracas, frightened residents evacuated homes and apartment buildings as repeated aftershocks rattled already weakened structures.
“As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming,” said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist living in western Caracas. “Everyone was running down the stairs.”
Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner from southern Caracas, said police officers helped evacuate her home after the shaking subsided.
“This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said, referring to the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed about 240 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Venezuela lies along the boundary where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate, making the country vulnerable to powerful seismic activity. One of the country’s deadliest earthquakes occurred in 1812, when an estimated 30,000 people died after widespread destruction struck Caracas and Mérida.
Hospitals across the capital activated emergency protocols as doctors and nurses worked extended shifts to treat a growing number of injured patients.
Staff at Caracas’ Hospital de ClÃnicas doubled overnight staffing levels to cope with the influx of casualties, while authorities canceled school classes for the remainder of the week. Venezuela’s stock exchange also suspended operations, with the facility expected to support emergency logistics.
The Venezuelan Red Cross reported severe damage to its headquarters but said rescue teams had nevertheless been dispatched to the hardest-hit communities. France also reported significant structural damage to its embassy in Caracas.
Industrial facilities appeared to escape the worst consequences of the disaster.
Near Morón, workers began restarting operations at Venezuela’s second-largest petrochemical complex after engineers completed initial safety inspections. Other major oil infrastructure showed no immediate signs of serious damage.
Chevron, the largest foreign partner of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, said all employees had been accounted for and production continued without interruption.
British energy company Shell, which has been evaluating natural gas development projects in Venezuela, likewise reported that all personnel were safe.
As rescue crews continued digging through unstable debris Thursday, authorities warned that the official casualty figures remained preliminary and that hopes of finding additional survivors were fading with each passing hour, even as emergency teams refused to abandon the search.
