Venezuela Race Against Time After Powerful Quakes Kill at Least 164

A pair of major earthquakes struck northern Venezuela in less than a minute, leaving at least 164 dead and nearly 1,000 injured, while U.S. officials warned the toll could climb into the thousands and possibly exceed 10,000. The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, hit about 40 seconds apart and caused severe damage in Caracas, the northern coast, and especially La Guaira, near the capital and its main airport.

Rescue teams have worked through the night among collapsed buildings, with families searching for missing relatives and survivors being carried out on stretchers. The BBC reported that more than 36,000 people had been listed as missing on a dedicated site set up after the disaster, though the figure has not been verified because of the chaos and difficulty collecting information. In La Guaira, which was declared a disaster zone, many buildings collapsed. In the city of Chacao, officials said 23 people had been rescued and four more were still trapped, including a 19-year-old woman pinned between concrete slabs.

Residents described scenes of devastation. Maria Alejandra, who lives in a building near the collapse zone in Caracas, said, “When we started going down, it looked like a horror movie.” Antoine Marin, 20, from San Agustin, said he feared his home would “split in two,” added that many houses there are makeshift and not earthquake-resistant, and said a university lecturer was trapped in a completely collapsed building. Diana Delgado said she was searching for her son, while Christian Carreño said a four-unit building had fallen entirely and that he believed people were trapped beneath the ground floor.

The government said it is working with the private sector to bring heavy machinery into the hardest-hit areas and speed up rescues. Acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on state television, “Dozens of buildings collapsed, and we are carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us.” At least eight people, including three children, died in the town of Moron. Venezuelans in several areas also reported power and water outages, and aftershocks continued as the country entered what experts consider the critical first 72 hours for saving people trapped under rubble. The United States, the United Nations, and other countries said they were preparing aid, with U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher promising support for search and rescue.