Strong quakes rock Venezuela, ‘high casualties’ likely

Strong earthquakes struck west of Venezuela’s capital on Wednesday afternoon, toppling buildings in Caracas, trapping people in the rubble and prompting scientists to warn of potentially heavy casualties and widespread destruction across the South American country.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

“High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS said, initially estimating the death toll would most likely range from 10,000 to 100,000.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said she would declare a state of emergency and request funds from multilateral organizations to back the recovery effort.

“We extend our condolences to those who have unfortunately suffered the loss of a family member,” she said in a national address, without giving a national count for deaths or injuries.

Local officials and witnesses reported collapsed buildings, rescues and a growing number of injured.

“We have buildings, homes and houses which have collapsed and we are taking care of things with everything we have available in terms of security, civil assistance,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said earlier on state television.

Video footage showed emergency workers climbing through the ruins of a collapsed building in the capital as night fell, while distraught relatives sought help for loved ones believed to be trapped.

Gustavo Duque, the mayor of the Chacao municipality in Caracas, said several buildings collapsed, and 18 survivors were extracted from one building alone. He urged onlookers to seek shelter and aid at public plazas because there could be aftershocks.

“We’re going to do everything we can to rescue the most people possible,” he said.

Twenty-two people were injured in the coastal state of Falcon, Governor Victor Clark said on state television. Fifteen missing people, all adults, were still being searched for.

Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday marking an 1821 military victory that helped secure the country’s independence from Spain.

“As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming,” said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist in western Caracas. “Everyone was running down the stairs.”

Residents across Caracas, which was also hit by a deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 1967, rushed to evacuate as buildings shook.

“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Coro Martinez, 56, who lives in eastern Caracas.

Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner in southern Caracas, said police helped her get out of her home. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.

Another resident, a 41-year-old office worker who declined to be named, said she received an earthquake alert on her phone just before the shaking intensified.

“As I picked it up and started listening to what it was saying, I first felt light shaking. Then, in less than two seconds, everything started moving.”

Rodriguez has been running the country since the US ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in January. She has hailed a new era of cooperation with the US and other countries, especially on oil, mining and other industries.

The US embassy in Caracas said it was closely monitoring the aftermath of the quake and urged citizens in the country to seek secure shelter and avoid damaged areas.

Fire trucks were seen on the streets of Caracas, where some buildings suffered significant facade damage.

At Caracas’ Hospital de Clinicas, staff were asked to double up on the night shift to help treat the injured, a worker there said.

Venezuela’s largest airport, in Maiquetia on the coast north of Caracas, was closed due to damages, Rodriguez said.

Classes were cancelled for the rest of the week as authorities began to take stock of the damage.

Venezuela’s oil infrastructure did not immediately appear to be affected by the tremors, as almost none of the cities with official reports of severe damage include critical oil infrastructure. Civil protection authorities in Maracaibo, near the large oil hub of Lake Maracaibo, said there were no injuries reported.

Many energy companies with operations in the country were accounting for staff before making initial assessments on the condition of oilfields, plants and refineries.

One source noted that extended loss of power could hit crude output levels until the service is restored. Venezuela’s oil ministry, state-run oil company PDVSA and its main foreign partner, Chevron, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The US Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat for Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands after the earthquake, and said hazardous waves could also affect Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. The warning was withdrawn about an hour later.

Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.

An estimated 30,000 people were killed when a powerful quake caused widespread destruction in the cities of Merida and Caracas in 1812, according to the USGS.