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164 Dead in Twin Venezuela Quakes 06/25 06:16
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- At least 164 people have died and 971 were
injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President
Delcy Rodrguez said Thursday, adding that rescue teams are rushing to the
hardest-hit areas to free people trapped under rubble.
Wednesday evening's 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the
strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt
throughout the region. The country's main airport was damaged and closed, while
buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil's Amazon, about 1,700
kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela's capital, Caracas.
Television broadcasts Thursday showed rescue workers using power tools to
work their way into piles of rubble where buildings once stood. Panicked
residents of the capital were sent pouring into the streets, and after the
quakes many people walked among the debris searching for the missing among
collapsed buildings and toppled electric poles.
Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled
from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodrguez described as a "disaster
zone" and one of the areas hardest hit by the quakes because of the large
number of collapsed buildings.
Rodrguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of
the country to La Guaira, which sits north of Caracas on the coast. She said
officials were trying to make the most of the daylight hours to speed up
efforts to rescue people believed to remain trapped under the rubble.
"Dozens of buildings have collapsed there ... and we are currently carrying
out intensive rescue operations to save lives," Rodrguez said.
Video shared online appeared to show dozens of people, some lying on the
ground and others on hospital beds, being treated outside a hospital in La
Guaira.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the
South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common
than in other parts of Latin America.
Rodrguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment
available for rescue operations, adding that search and rescue teams certified
by the United Nations were on their way to Venezuela to assist.
Residents fled their homes in panic
During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings in Caracas, many
visibly shocked when they turned back to see destroyed walls that left
furniture visible from the street. Columns of dust rose in two typically busy
neighborhoods in the capital.
"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.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged people to remain outside as
aftershocks could further damage structures, and many people stayed on the
streets for hours, some sitting on the ground hugging pets as dust gathered
around them. Others spent the night in parked cars, subway stations and other
public places.
Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone coverage, and the earthquakes
damaged and closed Simn Bolvar International Airport, the country's main
airport, Rodrguez said.
In Caracas, subway services were suspended and natural gas shut off, she
said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of
Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation
centers.
Roberto Gamas, another Caracas resident, said the building he was in "shook
from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong."
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 and who struggled to reach
relatives inside the country.
On Thursday, scores of people took to social media asking for help finding
loved ones, posting pictures of missing relatives and their last known location.
Venezuela opposition leader Mara Corina Machado, herself in exile, sent
wishes on X for "strength, serenity, and solidarity."
Venezuela was hit twice by large quakes
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of
7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles)
west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).
The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a
depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10
miles) southwest of Moron.
Several governments offered assistance
Rodrguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late
Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction
fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and had instructed the
economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.
Offers of help poured in from countries around the world.
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said in a post on X early Thursday that the
United States is "immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical
resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela."
Rodrguez -- who became acting president after an American military
operation captured her predecessor, Nicols Maduro, and brought him to the U.S.
to stand trial -- thanked U.S. President Donald Trump. She said in an X post
later that she spoke with Rubio by phone without sharing details. She also
expressed thanks to the leaders of various nations who have sent messages of
support and offers of help.
Ecuador ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid, and Rodrguez said Qatar,
Mexico and El Salvador had already sent rescue personnel.
"We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela," El
Salvador President Nayib Bukele, once diametrically opposed to Venezuela's
government, wrote in a post on X.
Earthquakes impact the region
Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil's Amazon were evacuated,
according to reports on TV Globo. The quakes also were felt in Colombia's
Caribbean and northeast regions.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued several tsunami alerts that
were quickly lifted.
While uncommon in Venezuela, earthquakes are frequent along the Pacific
coast, including in Mexico and Chile, which both sit along the seismically
active tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, an area that the USGS says is
responsible for 90% of earthquakes.
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