Venezuela earthquake death toll could hit thousands, USGS warns, as rescuers search Caracas rubble

The death toll from Wednesday’s double earthquake in Venezuela could reach thousands and may substantially exceed 10,000, the US Geological Survey has warned, as rescue teams worked through the night to reach survivors trapped under collapsed buildings in and around Caracas.

At least 32 people were confirmed dead and 700 injured as of Wednesday night, but the USGS said its predictive modelling pointed to a far higher final figure. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said the initial numbers did not yet include casualties from La Guaira — the worst-affected state, near Caracas and home to the city’s airport, which had been closed.

More than 6,600 people had been listed as unaccounted for on a missing persons website posted on X by opposition leaders shortly after 2am local time.

The rescue effort

Video footage showed emergency workers scrambling over the pancaked debris of collapsed buildings in the capital as night fell, with several dazed survivors taken away, some on stretchers. Rodriguez said rescue crews from other countries were expected in the coming hours.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are currently carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us to save,” she said in a television appearance just before 1am local time. “This is a true tragedy. To those families who have lost loved ones, we reaffirm our condolences and our support in these difficult hours.”

Staff at Caracas’s Hospital de Clinicas were asked to double up on night shifts to treat the injured. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the week as authorities began assessing the damage.

Eyewitness accounts

“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a resident near one of the collapsed sites, who did not give her surname. “We had to climb over the rubble and everything. But from that building, I only saw that one family got out.”

Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner in southern Caracas, said police helped her evacuate. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said. In western Caracas, Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist, said: “As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming. Everyone was running down the stairs.”

An unnamed 41-year-old office worker said she received an earthquake alert on her phone just before the shaking intensified. “As I picked it up and started listening to what it was saying, I first felt light shaking. Then, in less than two seconds, everything started moving.”

International response

US President Donald Trump said on social media the United States was ready, willing, and able to help. “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,” he wrote. The US State Department said it was in touch with Venezuelan authorities and mobilising assistance, while the US embassy in Caracas urged American citizens in the country to seek secure shelter.

Leaders from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Spain also offered support and condolences.

Infrastructure

Venezuela’s oil infrastructure did not immediately appear to be affected. Civil protection authorities in Maracaibo reported no injuries, and a worker at the El Palito refinery near Morón — close to the epicentre — said there had been no damage. UK oil firm Shell said all its employees in the country were accounted for with no injuries. One source cautioned that an extended loss of power could hit crude output until service was restored. Venezuela’s oil ministry, state-run PDVSA, and its main foreign partner Chevron did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Image

Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate. An estimated 30,000 people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck Merida and Caracas in 1812, according to the USGS.

(With information from Reuters)

Posted on