Hundreds Dead As Twin Mega-Quakes Flatten Venezuela

Rescuers Race Against Time As Thousands Remain Missing After Powerful Earthquakes

Venezuela has been plunged into catastrophe after two massive earthquakes struck just seconds apart, leaving at least 188 people dead, more than 200 trapped beneath collapsed buildings and thousands feared missing.

The devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes hit shortly after 6pm, making them the strongest earthquakes to strike the country in more than a century. Entire buildings crumbled across Caracas and other major cities as terrified residents fled into the streets.

Officials warn the death toll is expected to rise sharply as rescue crews continue digging through mountains of rubble.

Tens Of Thousands Still Unaccounted For

A website established to track missing people has already logged more than 44,000 individuals who have yet to make contact with family members, raising fears that the true scale of the disaster could be far worse.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a nationwide state of emergency, describing the destruction across several regions as catastrophic and urging Venezuelans to remain calm while emergency services continue rescue operations.

The hardest-hit area appears to be La Guaira, which officials have described as a "disaster zone," with casualty figures there still unknown.

Global Rescue Effort Underway

Countries around the world have begun rushing aid and specialist rescue teams to Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Washington was deploying search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.

"We will have a whole government response," Rubio said. "It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective."

France has dispatched 85 rescue workers, while Qatar, Mexico and El Salvador have also sent emergency personnel.

President Donald Trump offered America's support in a post on Truth Social.

"The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths. The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! Early reports are not good!!!"

Survivors Describe Scenes Of Horror

Residents said the violent shaking threw people from their feet as apartment blocks swayed and walls collapsed around them.

"The building really shook from side to side," said Caracas resident Roberto Gamas.

"We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Thank God we were able to get out."

Authorities have urged residents to remain outdoors, warning that powerful aftershocks could trigger further building collapses.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquakes are likely to result in "high casualties," with rescue operations expected to continue for days as emergency workers search desperately for survivors buried beneath the wreckage.

SOURCE

The last report I saw from the USGS predicts deaths between 1,000 and 10,000. But that's a fast moving number.

Based on the videos I've seen of flattened buildings, it may go higher. I hope not.

US sending elite search teams to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes: ‘Exactly what we train for’

America’s premier search teams are headed to Venezuela to help find and rescue survivors among the rubble.

USA-01 and USA-02  — from Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue in Virginia and from Los Angeles — were activated within hours of the deadly quakes.

USA-01 is now waiting to fly 79 team members, 70,000 pounds of equipment and six sniffer dogs into the disaster zone.

The elite crew, which mainly consists of firefighters but also deploys medics, engineers and dog handlers, has previously carried out missions in deadly natural disasters including the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and the Japanese tsunami of 2011.

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