CARACAS — Powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, causing widespread damage, collapsing buildings and sending panicked residents into the streets.The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes roiled the region, with buildings evacuated in cities as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas.Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a national state of emergency late Wednesday after a powerful sequence of earthquakes struck the country’s northern Caribbean coast.In a brief address to the nation late Wednesday, Rodríguez said the earthquakes caused damages in several states, but she did not give any figures on the number of homes and buildings affected, or on injuries or fatalities.The earthquakes damaged Simón Bolívar International Airport, the country’s main airport.According to the latest technical data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), northern Venezuela was violently rocked by an extraordinary double-seismic sequence.Seismologists confirmed that a massive 7.2 foreshock first struck near the municipality of San Felipe, the capital of Yaracuy state. Merely 40 seconds later, an even more catastrophic 7.5 mainshock occurred just southeast of Yumare.The mainshock was the largest recorded earthquake to strike Venezuela and the strongest in over 125 years.According to the USGS, the seismic event occurred at a depth of roughly 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), with its epicenter located just west of the coastal community of Moron. The violent tremors heavily shook the capital city of Caracas, causing the destruction of several buildings.“We have officially implemented a national state of emergency to streamline rescue resources,” Rodriguez announced in a televised address to the nation.“We urge our population to remain calm,” Rodríguez said. “We urge unity.”She also asked all health care professionals in the country to report to hospitals to assist anyone who was injured.The Ministry of Education late Wednesday said some schools would be used as shelters and donation centers.Rodríguez confirmed a major disruption to regional transit lines, saying Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia had been closed indefinitely due to severe and extensive infrastructure damage to its main terminals and operational runways.Civil defense authorities are currently deploying to the hardest-hit areas near the epicenter to evaluate infrastructure damage.Videos circulating on social media captured thick dust columns rising above commercial sectors in the capital as structures cracked and shed concrete facades. Emergency personnel are actively searching damaged rubble for trapped or injured citizens.Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed to local media that the severe shaking triggered structural failures, causing houses and buildings to collapse.“All security and emergency response agencies, including civil protection, volunteers, firefighters and police, are fully deployed on the scene,” Cabello said during a live broadcast on state television.The minister highlighted a particularly “alarming situation” in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, where multi-story residential units suffered partial collapses, leaving interior furniture visible from the street. Cabello urged residents across heavily impacted urban areas to stay clear of indoor spaces to prevent casualties from potential aftershocks.“We recommend that you remain on the streets, watch over children and the elderly, and try to stay calm as rescue protocols are activated,” he added.Amid mounting structural damage and localized blackouts, Rodriguez thanked the United Nations, multilateral organizations and several foreign governments for expressions of solidarity and offers of humanitarian assistance.She specifically thanked Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Türkey, Jordan, Barbados, Curacao and the United Kingdom for offering support, including structural search-and-rescue assistance.Meanwhile, the US has pledged to assist Venezuela following the powerful earthquakes, with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announcing that Washington is mobilizing assistance.”The US stands with the Venezuelan people in the aftermath of this evening’s devastating earthquakes. We’re in touch with the authorities and mobilizing assistance. May God bless our Venezuelan friends at this difficult moment,” Landau said on the US social media platform X.US Under Secretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom Jeremy Lewin said the State Department has already mobilized a disaster assistance team and task force to “deliver and coordinate critical assistance to the Venezuelan people.””Working with our partners in the interim Venezuelan government, the U.S. will be sending search and rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies and other resources in the crucial first days after this tragic natural disaster,” he wrote on X.In a separate post on X, US Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said the US sends its “deepest condolences to the victims and are committed to supporting the people of Venezuela during this difficult time,” urging Americans to follow State Department websites for the latest information.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also said he instructed his country’s Foreign Ministry to assess the situation in the country and the assistance measures that Brazil can take.”I learned, with great concern and consternation, of the impacts caused by the earthquake that hit Venezuela this Wednesday,” Lula said on X.Lula reaffirmed Brazil’s determination to support acting President Delcy Rodriguez’s government in the recovery of affected areas of “this brother country.”A tsunami threat warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for the immediate coast of Venezuela as well as the neighboring islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.A tsunami advisory was activated for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands while authorities actively monitor coastal tide gauges for unusual wave activity.
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