The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela yesterday climbed to at least 164 by this morning, with nearly 1,000 people injured, as Costa Rica and governments across the Americas pledged rescue teams and humanitarian aid.
Acting President Delcy RodrÃguez gave the updated figures of 164 dead and 971 injured in an early Thursday address, warning that the true toll is feared to be much higher given the number of collapsed and damaged buildings. Those numbers did not yet include possible casualties in the coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, which RodrÃguez described as a disaster zone.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quakes at magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, striking about 40 seconds apart near the towns of San Felipe and Yumare, roughly 100 miles west of the capital. They rank among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. At least 30 aftershocks have followed, RodrÃguez said, and seismologists warned that more strong jolts are possible in the coming days.
RodrÃguez declared a nationwide state of emergency, suspended classes for several days and closed Simón BolÃvar International Airport in Caracas, the country’s main air hub, because of damage. The worst-hit areas include the Altamira, Los Palos Grandes and El ParaÃso neighborhoods of Caracas, along with parts of central Venezuela. The USGS cautioned that high casualties were probable because many buildings in the region are made of unreinforced brick and adobe, which hold up poorly in strong quakes.
Costa Rica was among the first governments in the region to respond. In a message posted by the Presidency, President Laura Fernández said the country stands with the Venezuelan people in their grief and with the families and rescue crews working to save lives. Costa Rica was one of several governments — alongside Chile, Panama and Uruguay — that issued official statements offering to send rescue and relief personnel as Venezuela requests them.
The wider response crossed the region’s usual political divides. El Salvador said it had 300 rescuers and paramedics, plus 50 tons of equipment and medicine, ready to fly to Caracas, while the Dominican Republic said its armed forces’ search-and-rescue teams would leave Thursday morning. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Panama and Cuba also offered help. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was immediately deploying rescue teams and aid at President Donald Trump’s direction, and European leaders including the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen voiced support.
RodrÃguez said she was coordinating with the United Nations to bring in rescuers and with the International Monetary Fund to set up an initial $200 million fund for rebuilding. The disaster lands on an already strained country: the U.N. estimated that almost 8 million of Venezuela’s 28 million people needed humanitarian assistance as of May.
Survivors described a long, violent shaking. One emergency-response worker about four hours from Caracas said the ground shook for two to three minutes and that it felt endless. There were no reports of the quakes being felt in Costa Rica. Search-and-rescue work continued Thursday, and officials said the casualty figures were likely to rise.
