Venezuela earthquakes: At least 235 dead, 4300 injured

Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed around 235 people and left at least 4300 people injured.

“Unfortunately, we have received around 235 patients who arrive without vital signs or die when they arrive at our health facilities,” Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media Friday.

The number of dead and injured is expected to rise with thousands reported missing after the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck on Thursday – among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and felt throughout the region.

Thousands were reported missing and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.

In response to the devastation, the US Treasury moved to waive some sanctions until October 23 to allow transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited.

Panicked residents poured into the streets and searched for the missing among the debris In cities across northern Venezuela,.

The injured were pulled out of the rubble covered in dust and blood, among them children and animals. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues – including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a barefoot poking out – before crews managed to get her out alive. But few government search teams were seen outside Caracas.

In the capital, mother-of-three Dayana Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbours were the ones digging through the rubble.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said of her 8-year-old missing son.

One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her children, 3 and 10, were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of missing loved ones. Some stood in silent shock.

The coastal region of La Guaira – north of the capital, Caracas – suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties. The country’s main airport was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts.

Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signalling with her hand for help.

“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” said Mendaño. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Offers of aid and supplies poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez – the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro's capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodríguez represents.

Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters – a 1999 mudslide killed thousands in what was considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters.

Rodríguez appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations.

“We hope to rescue as many living people as possible,” said Rodríguez, who referred to La Guaira as a “disaster zone".

She said the first rescuers from the Dominican Republic were about to land and more from other countries were expected to arrive in the coming hours.

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.

The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170km west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22km. Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10km and an epicentre 16km southwest of Moron.

The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.

“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”

Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Rodríguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said. Classes will also be cancelled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centres.

Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for loved ones. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives.

Venezuelans in the country were able to access X shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation on Thursday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.

Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Canada vowed to send aid. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday. Aid included emergency and military personnel, canine and search teams, medical supplies, water purifiers, airplanes and drones.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was “immediately” deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela's main airport created logistical challenges.

“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said.