Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency Wednesday after two powerful earthquakes struck the country, toppling buildings in the capital and forcing the closure of the main international airport, as US President Donald Trump offered assistance.
Rodriguez said at least 20 aftershocks followed the twin earthquakes, which measured magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Both quakes struck the same region.
The tremors triggered panic in the capital, sending residents into the streets, Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists reported.
“The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible,” said Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee.
Authorities were still assessing the full extent of the damage. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said several people were injured and multiple buildings collapsed, though it was not immediately clear whether anyone had been killed.
An AFP journalist saw a 22-story building completely destroyed in the Altamira neighborhood of the capital, where residents called out for missing relatives as volunteers climbed through rubble.
“We need flashlights,” one volunteer said.
Trump said late Wednesday that the earthquakes had caused widespread destruction and loss of life.
“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help. I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good.”
The first quake, with an epicenter 21 kilometers (13 miles) west of the coastal town of Morón, struck at 10:04 p.m. GMT, the USGS said. Within a minute, a 7.5-magnitude quake followed about 45 kilometers away.
“This earthquake was the second event in a doublet. This magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded by 39 seconds by a 7.2 foreshock,” the USGS said.
Cabello urged residents to leave their homes in affected areas and said gas supplies had been cut to several buildings as a precaution.
“We have some damaged structures and we don’t want any kind of accident involving gas to occur,” he said.
Maiquetia International Airport, near Caracas, was closed due to serious damage to its infrastructure, Rodriguez said. Social media posts showed damaged terminals and disrupted operations.
The tremors struck at depths of 22 kilometers and 10 kilometers, respectively.
They prompted panic at a shopping center in Caracas, where AFP journalists saw people rushing outside as alarms sounded.
“It was unbelievable. I don’t even know how long it lasted,” said shopkeeper Heidi Romero, who was on the top floor when the quake struck.
“We went out through the emergency stairs. That’s how they got us out,” the 42-year-old said.
Dozens of people in the capital remained outside buildings before later returning to homes and offices.
Carmen Guedez, 69, was in the same room as her bedridden sister when the shaking began.
“It kept getting stronger,” said the administrator, who lives in a hilly middle-class neighborhood above the capital. “I started to see the windows move and then everything shook.”
She said she huddled with her sister and a neighbor.
“We couldn’t get out. The neighbors are still out in the street,” she said.
The states of Trujillo, Carabobo, Miranda and La Guaira were among the hardest hit, Cabello said.
The quake was also felt in neighboring Colombia, including the capital Bogota, where alarms sounded and some residents evacuated buildings as a precaution.
Freddy Tovar, coordinator of Colombia’s National Seismological Network, said more than 200 reports of shaking were received across the country.
“Conditions of this seismic event mean some aftershocks may occur, which could also be widely felt across Colombian territory,” he said in a video posted on X.
Colombia’s disaster management agency, UNGRD, ruled out the risk of a tsunami. The US National Tsunami Warning Center also said there was no tsunami threat in a post on X.
Venezuela is highly earthquake-prone. Major past quakes in the country’s modern history include the 1967 Caracas earthquake, which killed 236 people, and a 1997 event in the northeast that left 73 dead.
Shortly after the twin quakes, a separate 7.2-magnitude tremor was reported in northern Japan, according to the country’s weather agency, with no casualties or damage reported.
