Death toll from Venezuela earthquakes jumps as global rescue mission unfolds

The death toll from the deadly double earthquakes that hit Venezuela has risen to about 235, as international rescue teams joined the effort to pull survivors from the rubble.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado provided the grim update on state television on Thursday evening (Friday morning AEST). He added that 4500 people were injured.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning AEST) were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region.

Government ministers have asked citizens to trust the government in its response to the earthquakes that shook the country.

“We have the people of La Guaira organised so far, and that is one of the things we ask of them most: that the people organise themselves, that they trust their government,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a message to the media broadcast on state television.

Venezuela’s Interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, visited La Guaira state on Thursday, the area most affected by the powerful earthquakes that shook the country.

Rodríguez led a meeting with officials in La Guaira to assess the situation and emphasise that the priority “is focused on expediting operational decision-making to safeguard the lives of the population and assist the affected families,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to help Venezuela in a social media post.

“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help!” he wrote on Truth Social.

“I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!” he added.

Trump was speaking after the US State Department announced that the US will provide $US150 million in aid to Venezuela and the US Defence Department will also provide aircraft to assess damage, find injured victims and deliver life-saving assistance.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that the US was deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles.

A Disaster Assistance Response Team is also being deployed to provide expertise on disaster response.

“We will have a whole government response,” Rubio said on Thursday in Bahrain, noting they were facing logistical obstacles with Caracas’ airport collapsed.

“It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective.”

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, also announced the deployment of a team of rescuers and health personnel from the Secretariat of National Defence to bolster the effort as well.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC on Friday it’s too early to judge whether Australians have been impacted by the quakes.

“We’re continuing to monitor the situation, and our heart goes out to anyone here who has relatives or friends in Venezuela.

“Because this is one of the worst earthquakes that we’ve seen in recent times, with catastrophic human consequences, a massive loss of life, but also massive infrastructure damage and real consequences for the people of Venezuela.”

Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Rodríguez described as a “disaster zone” and one of the areas hardest hit by the quakes because of the large number of collapsed buildings.

Rodríguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which sits north of Caracas on the coast.

She said officials were trying to make the most of the daylight hours to speed up efforts to rescue people believed to remain trapped under the rubble.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodríguez said.

The first earthquake, measured initially at magnitude 7.1, struck just after 6pm on Wednesday (8am Thursday AEST), according to the US Geological Survey.

Its epicentre was west of the community of Morón, about 168 kilometres from the capital of Caracas, which was heavily shaken.

The quake struck at a depth of about 13.2 kilometres, the USGS said.

A second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 also struck just 45 seconds later, 16 kilometres south-west of Morón, at a depth of about 10 kilometres.

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The USGS clarified that the smaller quake was a “foreshock”, while the latter was the “mainshock” – forming an earthquake “doublet”.

The effects were felt in multiple states of Venezuela, and even as far away as Colombia.

Appearing on state television, Rodriguez said the Simon Bolivar Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, had been closed due to damage.

Video purportedly filmed at the airport showed people in the terminal screaming and fleeing as the building shook.

CNN reported residents in Caracas were seen evacuating buildings and gathering in the street, while videos showed damaged walls around the city.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello told state TV some buildings were down in the city.

“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello said.

“Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.“

He also urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.

The USGS estimated there was a near-certain chance of more than 1000 fatalities from quakes this size.

On its website, it estimated a 44 per cent chance of between 10,000 and 100,000 casualties.

Additionally, the estimated economic loss to Venezuela was between 2 per cent and 20 per cent of the country’s GDP.

It’s understood these are only estimates based on the size and location of the quakes.

Many parts of the country now have interrupted power, limited phone coverage, and shut-off gas, with security forces deployed to respond to emergencies.

“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” Caracas resident Roberto Damas said.

“We were walking, and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell.

“Well, thank God we were able to get out.”

Multiple buildings have collapsed, while photos emerging from Caracas showed rescue workers searching piles of rubble.

The US-based National Tsunami Warning Centre posted on X that there was no threat of a tsunami to the US, but an advisory warning was issued for the region.

Tsunami waves were possible along coastlines within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, the centre said, including Venezuela, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba, while there was a potential threat to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

That warning has since been rescinded, with the US centre saying there was “no tsunami warning, advisory, watch, or threat”.

The epicentre of the first quake was about 28 kilometres from the Montalban municipality, home to some of Venezuela’s largest oil refineries.

Strong earthquakes are unusual in Venezuela.

While the country sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

Along the Pacific coast – in Mexico and Chile, for example – earthquakes are frequent; the two countries sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, responsible for 90 per cent of earthquakes, according to the USGS.

Expressions of support posted on social media

Countries from across the world from Qatar to Mexico began to send aid to Venezuela.

Rodríguez expressed thanks for the messages of support and offers for help, which poured in from around the globe, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had spoken to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States is “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in exile after leaving the country in December, took to X to offer prayers.

“May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult time,” she wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron took to social platform X to express France’s solidarity with the Venezuelan people and said that a team of 85 French rescue workers specialising in search and clearance operations is “being deployed immediately” to Venezuela.

“France stands ready, alongside its European partners, to provide assistance to the affected populations in response to the needs identified by the Venezuelan authorities,” he wrote.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he spoke with the Venezuelan president on Thursday to say his country was sending a plane later that day with two government-sponsored search-and-rescue teams, along with other aid workers to assess needs on the ground.

“Our government is working to give all the possible assistance to our Spanish expatriates in Venezuela (too),” Sánchez said in his social media channels.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has also shared her condolences online.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Venezuela, the Australian-Venezuelan community, and all those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.

“We send our deepest condolences following this dreadful tragedy,” she wrote.

Australia issues travel warning

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to advise Australians not to travel to Venezuela.

It also warned Australia’s ability to provide consular assistance in Venezuela is “severely limited” as it has no embassy or consulate in the country.

Travellers are urged to check with their airline as airports may be closed, monitor local media, follow the advice of local authorities and avoid affected areas.

- Reported with Associated Press and CNN.