MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela reports 32 dead and over 700 injured after its twin earthquake, toll expected to rise

Rodríguez said that La Guaira, a coastal state north of Caracas, is the hardest hit and described it as a “disaster zone,” with a high number of collapsed buildings

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez reported on Thursday at least 32 dead and more than 700 injured from the two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck the north-central part of the country on Wednesday, and warned that the toll would rise. “We have reports of 32 dead, not yet counting the figures that the state of La Guaira may yield, and more than 700 injured,” the leader said in a broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión.

Rodríguez said that La Guaira, a coastal state north of Caracas, is the hardest hit and described it as a “disaster zone,” with a high number of collapsed buildings. The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, specified that up to 15 buildings came down in that region. It is home to Maiquetía International Airport, the country's main one, which serves Caracas and was closed after suffering severe damage. The acting president also announced the suspension of classes for the coming days, as well as of the metro and the railway, along with disruptions to electricity, water and gas services.

The first official toll contrasts with the projections released by the US Geological Survey (USGS), which estimated around a 40% probability that the earthquakes caused between 10,000 and 100,000 deaths. This is a statistical calculation based on the intensity of the shaking, the exposed population and the vulnerability of the buildings, and not a count of victims, so it will have to be checked against reports on the ground as rescue work progresses.

The two quakes occurred at around 6:05 p.m. local time on Wednesday, just 39 seconds apart, in what the USGS described as a “seismic doublet.” The epicenter was located less than 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Yumare, in Yaracuy state, about 300 kilometers west of Caracas, where they were also strongly felt. The tremor caught the country on a public holiday marking the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo. The US Tsunami Warning System issued a threat for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that it canceled hours later.

Rescue efforts continued in La Guaira and in Caracas, where residents and Civil Protection teams searched for survivors in the rubble, in some cases without machinery. Rodríguez said that rescuers from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Qatar and the Dominican Republic would arrive in the coming hours. US President Donald Trump offered help in a message on his social network and anticipated that the first reports “are not good.” Washington's assistance falls within its rapprochement with Rodríguez's interim government, which took office after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation in January. The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, among other leaders, expressed their solidarity.