What happened
Powerful back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela on Wednesday evening collapsed buildings in Caracas and other cities, sending people rushing out to the streets. At least 164 people are confirmed dead and nearly 1,000 more are injured, the Venezuelan government said, with hundreds more still missing.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the initial magnitude 7.2 quake was followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 temblor, the biggest to hit Venezuela since 1900. “High casualties and damage are probable,” USGS said, with the final death toll likely in the thousands.
Who said what
“We urge our population to remain calm,” Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez said in a televised address. “We urge unity.” Simón Bolívar International Airport outside Caracas sustained heavy damage and was closed, Rodríguez said, and train, subway and residential gas services were suspended. School was also canceled for the rest of the week. Traveling through Caracas on Thursday morning, there were “neighborhoods with no lights on and streets flooded by burst water pipes,” said The New York Times correspondent María Victoria Fermín.
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What next?
The U.S. was among several countries that promised aid, search-and-rescue help and rebuilding assistance. “We will be there for our new and great friends,” President Donald Trump said on social media. “Early reports are not good!!!”
