At least 164 people have died and 971 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Thursday. The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region.
Rescue Efforts Underway
Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodríguez described as a “disaster zone” and the area hardest hit by the quakes. Several governments, including the United States, have offered assistance to Venezuela.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday, saying the quakes caused damage in several states. She asked health care professionals to report to hospitals to assist the injured.
Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.
