By Thousands feared dead as major rescue operation underway in earthquake-struck Venezuela
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building in Caracas. (AP Photo:Ariana Cubillos)
In short:
Two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.5 and 7.2 magnitude, have struck Venezuela near the capital Caracas.
At least 164 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 others injured.
What’s next?
A “massive” UN-coordinated recovery effort is underway to find survivors, with countries from all around the world deploying search and rescue teams.
Venezuela is in a state of emergency, with a major search and rescue operation underway, after the worst earthquakes in more than 120 years hit the country.
The powerful earthquakes have already killed at least 164 people and injured more than 971, according to the country’s acting president.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, which struck near the capital Caracas within a minute of each other on Wednesday night local time, were the worst recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
The United Nations was coordinating a major rescue operation with many people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
A hospital was evacuated after it was damaged in the earthquake. (AP Photo: Pedro Mattey)
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher called for “massive collective efforts”.
Offers of help 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.
Specialist rescuers certified by the UN have been deployed to search for survivors, with countries across Europe, Central and South America and the Middle East sending personnel and equipment to assist.
Emergency services work at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas. (Reuters: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
Mr Fletcher warned that even before the earthquakes hit, nearly eight million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support.
“This disaster risks deepening existing vulnerabilities,”
he said.
Death toll predicted to climb
Loading…
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez said the death toll was expected to climb as rescue workers began searching in one of the worst hit areas, La Guaira, a coastal region just north of Caracas.
The US Geological Survey, using predictive modelling to estimate the death toll, said it could run into the thousands.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Ms Rodríguez said in a national address.
“La Guaira state is a true tragedy, and has become a disaster zone.“
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said one of the runways at Caracas’ international airport was cracked in the earthquake, making landing aircraft there difficult for rescue efforts.
Social media video also showed the terminal’s ceiling collapsing over panicked travellers.
“We will have a whole government response,” he said.
“It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective.”
Venezuelans gather in front of a damaged building in Caracas on Wednesday evening. (Reuters: Fausto Torrealba)
Thousands believed to be missing
Authorities have not provided an official figure for those reported missing, but a website set up to track missing people had hit about 10,000 people within hours.
Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her eight-year-old was missing.
“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.
A major rescue operation is looking for survivors under collapsed buildings. (Reuters: Gaby Oraa)
Scores of people in Venezuela and abroad have struggled to contact family members, especially with power and phone coverage wiped out in many areas, with families posting on social media desperate for information.
Residents across Caracas, where infrastructure was already crumbling due to lack of investment, rushed to evacuate as buildings shook.
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday.
“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.
$200 million pledged to repair buildings
Ms Rodríguez said her government was creating a US$200 million ($288 million) reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes.
Loading…
Houses have collapsed near the quake’s epicentre in Morón, a small seaside town in the state of Carabobo, where there was also no water or electricity.
The Venezuelan Red Cross said its headquarters had been critically damaged but managed to send rescue teams to the worst-affected areas.
Caracas’s Hospital de Clinicas was also damaged with videos posted on social media showing hallways plunged into darkness while ceiling panels hang by cables and pieces of plaster lie scattered across the floor.
Rescue workers from around the world have been deployed to Venezuela. (AP Photo: Pedro Mattey)
School has been cancelled for the rest of the week with buildings expected to be used for rescue and recovery efforts, while the stock exchange has also been closed with the building to be repurposed into a collection centre for urgent supplies.
Ms Rodríguez has called for unity in Venezuela, where anti-government protests over annual inflation of more than 500 per cent have become more frequent since US President Donald Trump ordered the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in a violent raid in January.
AP/AFP/Reuters
Originally published on www.abc.net.au — View original