Two Huge Back-To-Back Earthquakes Hit Venezuela, Killing At Least 32 People And Destroying Entire Buildings
Buildings collapsed across several states, including Caracas, Trujillo, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda and La Guaira.
Two huge earthquakes hit Venezuela less than a minute apart, killing at least 32 people, with the death toll expected to rise.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake first struck near the town of San Felipe, about 160 km west of the capital Caracas, just after 6 pm local time on Wednesday, June 24.
About 40 seconds later, a second and even bigger magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit nearby, close to the town of Yumare, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Many people were at home when the quakes hit because Wednesday was a public holiday marking a battle from Venezuela's 1821 war of independence from Spain.
Nearly two dozen aftershocks have since been recorded.
Buildings collapsed across several states, including Caracas, Trujillo, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda and La Guaira.
Caracas's international airport was damaged and closed, with all flights suspended.
La Guaira, the coastal state next to Caracas, was hit hardest, with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez declaring it a disaster zone.
As of early Thursday, Rodríguez said at least 32 people had been killed and more than 700 had been injured, with the USGS estimating that the death toll could be up to 10,000.
Rodríguez has declared a state of emergency and asked all healthcare workers in the country to report to hospitals.
Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week, and some schools are being used as shelters.
Several countries have said they are willing to send aid, including the US, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador and others.
Rescue efforts are ongoing in the hardest-hit areas, including La Guaira, where officials say more people remain trapped in collapsed buildings.
Scientists say Wednesday's quakes were the strongest to hit the country in more than a century.
The last comparable disaster was in 1812, when an earthquake estimated at magnitude 7.5 or higher killed an estimated 30,000 people in the cities of Mérida and Caracas, according to the USGS.
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