Venezuela rescuers press critical search after twin earthquakes

Rescue crews in Venezuela are trying to reach people trapped under collapsed buildings after two powerful earthquakes struck the country, Al Jazeera reported. The first 72 hours are the main life-saving window, experts told Al Jazeera, as dehydration, crush injuries and unstable structures quickly reduce survival chances.

Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said at least 235 people had been killed and more than 4,300 injured, according to Al Jazeera. The worst damage was reported in the northern coastal state of La Guaira and in Caracas, where rescuers were working through damaged neighborhoods.

The United States Geological Survey said the first quake, with a magnitude of 7.2, struck near San Felipe, about 284km west of Caracas, at 18:04 local time. It was followed soon after by a magnitude 7.5 quake near Yumare, roughly 293km west of the capital, the USGS said.

Al Jazeera reported that both quakes were shallow, at less than 20km below the surface, which can make shaking stronger than in deeper quakes of similar size. The USGS warned after the tremors that high casualties and widespread damage were likely.

Emergency response

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a nationwide state of emergency, Al Jazeera reported. Authorities mobilised firefighters, police, medical teams and civil defence workers, while Caracas’s Simon Bolivar International Airport was closed after sustaining damage.

International help began to arrive or be pledged, according to Al Jazeera. Brazil said it would send 36 firefighters, four telecommunications specialists and four technicians from its National Civil Defence agency, while Mexico offered assistance and France and Switzerland sent rescue teams.

The United States pledged $150m in humanitarian assistance, Al Jazeera reported. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had activated its emergency network in Venezuela and that its hospitals and polyclinics across the country remained operational.

Why the first days matter

David Pyle, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera that people without major initial injuries can survive for days in rubble, but fast help is needed if they lack water or medical care. Bill Murphy, a professor of engineering geology at the University of Leeds, told Al Jazeera that three days without water is normally fatal.

Murphy said rescuers often face impact injuries and crush injuries after building collapses. He told Al Jazeera that the risk of long-term problems from crush injury syndrome rises the longer people remain buried.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Education said schools were being turned into relief centres and shelters for displaced families, according to Al Jazeera. Authorities also told residents not to return to damaged buildings and to keep away from damaged infrastructure and large trees.

Aftershocks and uncertainty

Rodriguez said authorities had recorded at least 20 aftershocks just over five hours after the earthquakes, Al Jazeera reported. Vashan Wright, a geophysicist at the University of California San Diego, told Al Jazeera that statistics point to a 99 percent chance of magnitude 3 and 4 aftershocks in the next week, with a high probability of a magnitude 5 aftershock.

Al Jazeera reported that early casualty figures changed quickly as local reports gave way to national totals. Gustavo Duque, mayor of Caracas’s Chacao municipality, first reported one death after four buildings collapsed there, while Falcon state Governor Victor Clark said at least 15 people were trapped in a collapsed coastal residential building.

The USGS PAGER system estimated a potential death toll of 10,000 to 100,000 for the disaster, Al Jazeera reported. Wright said the model uses factors including magnitude, depth, location, population density, past earthquakes and building types to estimate likely losses.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.