Dozens of buildings have collapsed in the coastal city of La Guaira, Venezuela, after the two powerful earthquakes that struck Thursday, according to a reporter on the ground. Rescue crews are searching for survivors amid widespread destruction.
A reporter on the ground in La Guaira now reports that dozens of buildings have collapsed in the coastal city, adding a harrowing on-the-ground assessment to the thread of destruction The Zioneer has been tracking throughout Thursday. The report, filed around 11:54 Jerusalem time, comes after earlier fears of thousands trapped under rubble — first flagged at 04:15 Jerusalem — and confirms that the city has suffered massive urban destruction from the twin quakes.
The thread began overnight when a magnitude 7.1 quake struck, followed within 40 seconds by two even more powerful tremors of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, as reported by The Zioneer at 04:16 Jerusalem. By 02:08 Jerusalem, US monitoring data had already confirmed the sequence as the most powerful seismic event in Venezuela since 1900. Initial reports of building collapses in Caracas (03:38 Jerusalem) and a USGS warning of a high likelihood of casualties (04:06 Jerusalem) gave way to footage showing severe damage in La Guaira (04:15 Jerusalem), with rescuers fearing thousands trapped (11:11 Jerusalem). The collapse of dozens of buildings now provides the first specific structural toll from the worst-hit city.
As The Zioneer reported at 11:24 Jerusalem, acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a national emergency and established a search-and-rescue task force. A major fire was also reported raging in La Guaira at 06:59 Jerusalem, further complicating rescue efforts.
The full extent of casualties remains unknown, and rescue crews are still searching for survivors amid the widespread destruction. No official death toll has been released.
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