SRINAGAR: At least 164 people have been killed and 971 others injured after twin earthquakes of catastrophic magnitude struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, in what authorities have described as the country’s most powerful seismic event in more than a century. The death toll is widely expected to rise as rescue teams continue to comb through the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings across the capital, Caracas, and the coastal state of La Guaira, which has been declared a disaster zone.
The two earthquakes struck in rapid succession on the evening of Wednesday, 24 June, a national public holiday commemorating both St John the Baptist and Venezuela’s independence from Spain. A 7.2 magnitude foreshock struck near San Felipe, the capital of Yaracuy state, just after 6:04 p.m. local time, followed only 39 seconds later by a larger 7.5 magnitude earthquake approximately 23 kilometres southeast of the nearby town of Yumare, in the same state.
Seismology expert Adam Pascale of the Seismology Research Institute in Australia noted that the scale of the two quakes in such rapid succession was highly significant. “A 7.5 may not seem much larger than 7.2, but it’s actually twice as large because of the way the scale works,” Pascale said as reported in CNN. “It means that shaking will have gone on for so much longer because you’ve had that first one starting the shaking and then 40 seconds later a larger event, which will have longer duration.”
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake is the strongest to have struck Venezuela since records began in 1900, making it the most powerful seismic event in at least 126 years.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, declared a state of national emergency in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes. She confirmed that at least 30 aftershocks had occurred by early Thursday morning, with rescue operations ongoing across multiple states.
Rodríguez also announced the closure of Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, citing severe damage to its infrastructure. School classes have been suspended nationwide for a week, and rail services as well as non-essential activities have been temporarily cancelled. Security forces have been deployed across the country.
Rodríguez urged Venezuelans to remain calm and united. “What I ask is that we act in national unity, with calm, and that we know that together we will overcome this tragedy,” she said in a televised address. She also called upon all healthcare professionals across the country to report immediately to hospitals to assist the injured.
This is a developing story. Figures and information will be updated as rescue operations continue.
