LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) 鈥� In cities across northern , neighbors helped each other dig through rubble to search for loved ones, after back-to-back that officials say killed more than 230 people and left thousands injured.
The official death toll rose to around 235 late Thursday, with at least 4,300 people injured, Venezuela Health Minister Carlos Alvarado told state media. The number of casualties is expected to climb with thousands reported missing and frantic rescue efforts continuing.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and was felt throughout the region.
The International Organization for Migration said that up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the quakes, some 2 million of them in Caracas alone. Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross鈥� regional director for the Americas, said 鈥� people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes.鈥�
The injured were pulled out covered in dust and blood, among them children. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive. But few government search teams were initially seen outside Caracas.
The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties. The country鈥檚 main airport is there and was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts.
Venezuelans reeling from quakes
Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead. Buildings were flattened and streets cracked open.
Families posted missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched. Venezuelans abroad struggled to make contact with relatives due to interrupted phone service in the country.
In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.
Mother of three Dayana Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised and said residents were the ones digging through crumpled buildings.
鈥淚 want to know where my child is, if he鈥檚 trapped or in a shelter,鈥� she said of her missing 8-year-old son.
One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of the missing. Some stood in silent shock.
Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters: A 1999 mudslide killed thousands and is considered one of the country鈥檚 worst natural disasters.
In La Guaira, Cristian Carre帽o stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.
鈥淚 lost everything,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn鈥檛 get out. It鈥檚 incredibly devastating.鈥�
Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Menda帽o climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.
鈥淢ay God rescue her as quickly as possible,鈥� Menda帽o said. 鈥淲hen we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.鈥�
Media reports have shared notable moments of hope among the destruction, including a young man brought out on a stretcher in the San Bernardino district of Caracas to the applause of onlookers as his tearful mother said, 鈥淟eandro, I love you.鈥�
Venezuelan public television broadcast video of a girl covered in dust and wrapping herself in a dark sweatshirt as she emerged from rubble with the help of rescuers. Caracas metropolitan rescue team head Jos茅 Luis N煤帽ez said she was found in a 10-story building in La Guaira that collapsed and flattened 鈥渓ike a pancake.鈥�
鈥淲e want to highlight this girl鈥檚 strength, determination and will to live,鈥� N煤帽ez said.
Government and rescuers face huge challenges
The natural disaster is the latest challenge for acting President , the former vice president who took office in January after the capture and removal from power of then-President by the United States. Venezuela has been facing for more than a decade and many people reject the legitimacy of .
Rodr铆guez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.
She appealed to businesses Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations.
鈥淲e hope to rescue as many living people as possible,鈥� Rodr铆guez said.
While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
The U.S. Geological Survey said both earthquakes were centered near Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas.
The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.
鈥淚t is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,鈥� Ferreira said.
Shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024 in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the .
Foreign governments offer assistance
Some 1,000 emergency responders in 25 search-and-rescue teams from across the globe are deploying to Venezuela, said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
U.S. Secretary of State , who spoke to Rodr铆guez following the quake, said the United States was immediately deploying assistance.
鈥淲e have a whole-of-government response. It鈥檒l be big; it鈥檒l be fast; and it鈥檒l be effective,鈥� Rubio said, while acknowledging the closure of Venezuela鈥檚 main airport near Caracas created logistical challenges.
Venezuelan public television on Friday showed the arrival of rescuers with dogs and equipment, including cameras and ground-penetrating radar, from Spain. Teams from Chile and Switzerland also landed, and three military transport planes from Germany with personnel and aid were on the way. Turkey announced two flights will leave Istanbul on Friday with rescuers and a pair of search dogs. China also said it will provide assistance. Leaders from Qatar, Brazil, Portugal and Canada vowed to send help.
Rescue teams from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic arrived in Venezuela on Thursday, along with rescuers and material aid from Mexico.
鈥淣o country is prepared to provide the response that鈥檚 needed. That鈥檚 what neighboring countries are there for,鈥� Dominican air force Maj. Carlos Olivares said.
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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Julie Watson in San Diego, Hallie Golden in Seattle, India Grant in Mexico City, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Teresa Medrano in Madrid contributed to this report.
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