Caracas: The death toll from two powerful earthquakes, exceeding magnitude 7, that struck northern Venezuela late Wednesday has risen to at least 235, with more than 4,700 injured. Rescuers are scrambling to find missing people under rubble. The death toll is expected to rise further as tens of thousands more are reported missing.
According to Thai News Agency, the first earthquake, measuring 7.2 magnitude, struck just before 7:00 PM local time on Wednesday, followed less than a minute later by a second, 7.5 magnitude tremor. This is Venezuela's strongest earthquake since 1900. The epicenter was in the northern state of Yarraguila. It was a shallow earthquake, only 30 kilometers deep, and its tremors were felt as far away as Bogot¡, Colombia. The hardest hit were Caracas and the coastal state of Laguira, where numerous buildings collapsed, leading to the declaration of a disaster zone. The Los Palos Grandes and Chacao districts in Caracas also suffered significant damage due to their location on soft soil.
The latest death toll has risen to at least 235, with over 4,300 injured, amid concerns from international organizations that the true number of fatalities could be much higher as many people remain missing. Previously, the U.S. Geological Survey warned that the death toll could easily exceed 1,000 to 10,000, while a website created to track missing persons whose families have been unable to contact them cited over 46,000 missing people.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a nationwide state of emergency shortly after the incident and ordered the temporary closure of Sim³n Bolvar International Airport due to extensive structural damage. The subway system was disrupted, and power and communication systems were outages in several areas. However, most oil and natural gas infrastructure remained largely unaffected physically. Nevertheless, at least eight hospitals and the Venezuelan Red Cross headquarters were reportedly damaged, overwhelming the already fragile medical system, which had been plagued by the previous economic crisis, with an excessive number of injured patients.
The United Nations is currently leading the coordination of the rescue efforts, while the US government has announced $150 million in emergency aid and dispatched search and rescue teams, military transport aircraft, and naval vessels to the area immediately. In addition, rescue teams and relief supplies from France, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, Qatar, and China are en route to join the mission. Meanwhile, organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children warn that thousands of children are at risk and require urgent psychological support.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starlink announced it would provide free satellite internet access in affected areas until July 25th to help restore communication channels essential for locating survivors.