Two powerful earthquakes within just 39 seconds killed at least 164 people in Venezuela. In addition, there were almost a thousand injured, said Executive President Delcy Rodríguez early in the morning in the capital Caracas. The worst affected was the state of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast, where the country’s international airport and main seaport are located.
Rescuers work with bare hands
According to the authorities, dozens of buildings collapsed in the region alone on Wednesday evening and numerous people were buried. The government declared a state of emergency. Germany, the USA and other countries offered help or announced the dispatch of rescue teams.
Foreign help is also urgently needed, as the country appears to have been unprepared for a tragedy of this magnitude. “Many civil defense rescue workers have told us that they work with their hands, even with their nails. Little by little, equipment and tools are arriving, but it is not enough,” Spanish TV station RTVE correspondent Carolina Alcalde reported from Caracas. The emergency services worked all night and were completely exhausted.
After daybreak, the rescue work continued unabated despite the fatigue. TV images showed how helpers on the mountains of rubble, without any safety equipment and often only using their hands or shovels, cleared away individual stones and objects in order to find those buried. “At night I heard many people screaming for help in the rubble,” young Luis Reyes told RTVE. A shocked woman shouted to the cameras: “It was like a horror movie.”
It shook on a holiday
The quakes, which had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 according to the US Earthquake Observatory USGS, occurred around 6 p.m. local time on a public holiday. Many people were therefore at home or spent the time outdoors. On June 24, Venezuela commemorates the Battle of Carabobo against the Spanish colonial power in 1821. “Intense rescue work is underway to save the lives that God allows us to save,” said the President.
Rodríguez spoke of a tragedy and an earthquake of “unprecedented proportions” in the South American country. The last time there were comparable tremors was in 1900. Meanwhile, dozens of aftershocks repeatedly triggered panic on the streets. The tremors were also felt in the neighboring countries of Brazil and Colombia, but no significant effects were initially reported there.
Significant increase in the number of victims feared
A model calculation by the US earthquake monitoring station suggested that the number of victims would continue to rise. There were initially no official figures on missing people. But lists of names of people wanted by their families have been circulating on websites set up after the quakes and on social media. Accordingly, around 12,000 people were missing the day after the disaster – but this data cannot be verified.
After the quake, the electricity and water supplies failed in many places, and the mobile phone network and the Internet also did not work at times, as residents reported. Train services were stopped and the international airport was closed due to damage. The subway in Caracas also stopped operating. Schools also remained closed.
The oil-rich country is experiencing turbulent political times. In January, the US military captured the ruler Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the USA. Rodríguez is the executive director.
Unusual: Two severe earthquakes within one minute
According to the USGS, there were only 39 seconds between the two tremors. The first quake occurred on Wednesday at 6:04 p.m. (local time; 12:04 a.m. CEST Thursday), 24 kilometers east of San Felipe in the northwest of the country at a depth of 21.9 kilometers. The second, stronger earthquake occurred a few kilometers further north at a depth of only around ten kilometers. Because of its shallow depth, the impact of the second quake is likely to be greater.
According to USGS data, just over 400,000 people live in the relatively nearby cities of Puerto Cabello and San Felipe alone. There, too, there was talk of buildings collapsing and significant damage. The U.S. Earthquake Monitoring’s automatic model calculation, based on the magnitude of the quake and the proximity of some cities, suggested a very high probability of more than 1,000 deaths.
The megacity of Caracas, from which the first images and reports came after the quake, was not particularly close to the epicenter, but around 200 kilometers east of it. Rodríguez said there was some major damage there and in several states in the north.
Trump, Merz and others promise help: “Deeply affected”
US President Donald Trump promised quick help. He has instructed all authorities to prepare to help quickly, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We will be there for our new and great friends,” he wrote – probably with a view to the interim government in Caracas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the government was immediately deploying search and rescue teams as well as humanitarian and medical assistance.
Other countries also immediately promised help, including the federal government. “The news of the terrible earthquake in Venezuela is deeply saddening. Germany is on Venezuela’s side and will help,” wrote Chancellor Friedrich Merz on X.
“Never been so scared!”
Videos of damaged buildings and other damage, including at the international airport, spread online. Footage verified by the dpa shows the vibrations as well as parts of the ceiling and buildings falling as people flee the terminal buildings.
Residents of Caracas reported severe damage and described their impressions. “I have never been so afraid in my life, it was terrible,” a 57-year-old told the German Press Agency. “Two high-rise buildings near us have collapsed, and walls in the neighboring building are missing,” she added. However, their high-rise building was largely spared. In her apartment, furniture was overturned and pictures fell from the walls.
A resident near the city of Maracay, which is around 100 kilometers from the epicenter, also reported violent tremors. “I was sitting in the car and the car was moving back and forth as if it were a piece of paper,” he told dpa.
From La Guaira, affected resident José Rolón told RTVE: “Many houses have completely collapsed. My own house is uninhabitable.” There are many people crying on the streets and others trying to loot houses. You can also see corpses on the streets. “There is no information. We are all left to our fate here. It is as if the state does not exist,” he complained.
Interior Minister warns of dangerous aftershocks
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello spoke on state television of an “extremely alarming situation” and called on people to stay in safe places. After severe earthquakes, aftershocks are to be expected that could cause already damaged buildings to collapse. To prevent explosions, the authorities ordered the gas supply to be cut off.
Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is currently not in Venezuela, wrote on Platform
