Twin 7.2 and 7.5 Earthquakes Kill at Least 164 in Venezuela, Toppling Buildings in Caracas

Caracas buried under rubble as two massive quakes strike seconds apart

Back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 tore through northern Venezuela on Wednesday evening, killing at least 164 people and injuring 971, acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced Thursdaybbc. The two quakes struck less than a minute apart near the coastal town of Morón in Yaracuy state, about 100 miles west of Caracasnpr. The 7.5-magnitude event is the largest to hit Venezuela since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Surveynpr.

Rodríguez declared a national state of emergency and warned that confirmed deaths did not yet include figures from La Guaira — the worst-hit state — which she designated a disaster zonenpr. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported more than 100 buildings collapsed in La Guaira alone, a coastal region about 19 miles north of Caracasnpr. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the Altamira and Los Palos Grandes neighborhoods of Caracas suffered the worst damage — the same areas hardest hit in the country's last major earthquake in 1967, which killed 200 peoplebbc.

A century's worst tremor exposes a fragile nation

Both quakes struck close to the surface, at depths of 20 and 10 kilometers respectively, amplifying their destructive forcebbc. The USGS estimated a 44% probability of more than 10,000 total deaths and a 30% chance of more than 100,000 — figures calculated to shape the emergency response rather than as firm predictionsbbc. Simón Bolívar International Airport was closed after footage showed debris falling inside the terminalnpr. Video verified by the BBC showed a 10-storey hotel in La Guaira reduced to rubblebbc. Power cuts and internet outages are hampering assessments, with journalist Luis Hernandez telling the BBC that Venezuela's economic crisis makes it especially difficult to gauge the full scale of lossesbbc. At least 30 aftershocks followed the twin quakes, and USGS seismologist Paul Earle warned there is a 40% chance of a magnitude-6 or larger aftershock in the coming weeknpr.

International aid flows in amid a diplomatic pivot

The disaster is the first major test of Venezuela's recast relationship with Washington since President Trump ordered the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Januarybbc. Trump said he had instructed his administration "to get ready to move quickly," calling the quakes "both massive in scale" and promising the U.S. "stands ready, willing and able to help"bbc. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the immediate deployment of search and rescue teams, medical resources and humanitarian suppliesbbc. Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Qatar also pledged assistancenpr. Rodríguez announced a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes and called on Venezuelans to stay calm: "Together we will overcome this tragedy"npr.