Rescue crews and residents searched through collapsed buildings across northern Venezuela on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes struck in quick succession the previous evening, killing at least 164 people and injuring hundreds more, authorities said. The quakes, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 and centered in Yaracuy state west of Caracas, were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. The worst damage was reported in Caracas and the nearby port state of La Guaira, where more than 100 buildings were reported destroyed or collapsed, overwhelming local authorities and raising fears that many more people remained trapped.
In several of the hardest-hit areas, survivors and relatives began digging through rubble themselves as they waited for heavy machinery and specialized teams. Residents in La Guaira said rescue workers and government personnel were initially scarce, and some estimated that hundreds of people were buried beneath individual collapsed structures. Authorities declared a state of emergency, suspended some transport services, shut off domestic gas in affected areas and closed Simón Bolívar International Airport after it suffered heavy damage. Power outages, burst water pipes, hospital evacuations and communications disruptions further complicated the response, while aftershocks continued to rattle the region.
The government said international assistance was being mobilized, with teams from the United States and several other countries expected to arrive or already deploying. President Delcy Rodríguez called for national unity and said Venezuela was coordinating broader relief and reconstruction efforts. Supporters of the government have pointed to Rodríguez's acceptance of aid from countries beyond Venezuela's traditional allies as a sign of a more pragmatic response. Others, however, have criticized the pace and reach of the initial rescue effort, saying years of economic decline, deteriorating infrastructure and weak civil protection capacity left communities exposed and forced civilians to act before official help arrived.
The disaster has struck Venezuela at a politically and economically fragile moment. Rodríguez took power in January after Nicolás Maduro was removed in a U.S. military operation, and her government has since faced pressure over legitimacy, public dissatisfaction and the country's slow recovery from years of depression, inflation and shortages. Analysts say the earthquakes are likely to deepen those strains by placing new pressure on hospitals, utilities and housing, while also testing promised international support. Scientists said the destruction was intensified by the rare near-simultaneous nature of the two quakes, their shallow depth and the vulnerability of many homes and apartment buildings built with unreinforced masonry or brittle concrete in areas prone to amplified shaking.