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Tom Phillips<\/p>\nState of emergency declared, damaged Caracas airport closedTom Phillips<\/p>\n
Venezuela\u2019s interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, has announced a state of emergency. \u201cWe ask the population to remain calm and united,\u201d she said on state TV.<\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez said the country\u2019s main airport had been closed after suffering \u201csevere damage\u201d and announced that the metro and train systems had been halted. \u201cWe send our immediate condolences to those who have lost relatives,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez added, although she did not say how many casualties or fatalities there had been.<\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez urged citizens to evacuate damaged buildings.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.53 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n The US will deploy a disaster assistance team to Venezuela<\/a>, Jeremy Lewin, the US under secretary of state for foreign assistance, has posted to X.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with our partners in the interim Venezuelan government, the U.S. will be \u200csending search and rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies and other resources in the crucial first days \u200bafter this tragic natural disaster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The US embassy in Caracas, meanwhile, says all US personnel are accounted for.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.07 EDT<\/p>\n This video shows how the earthquakes were felt at the JW Marriott hotel in Caracas.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n The five-star hotel has become the nerve centre<\/a> of the US intervention in Venezuela since the 3 January abduction of president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n Since Donald Trump\u2019s invasion, the Marriott has served as the home of the dozens of North American officials, diplomats and spies who now call the shots in Venezuela, a country many believe has become a US protectorate \u2013 and which Trump has even said he hopes to turn into the 51st state<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The US is mobilising assistance for Venezuela, a US state department official has told Reuters. There were no details about what form the assistance would take.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a map to illustrate the epicentre of the earthquakes, in relation to Caracas.<\/p>\n Map showing epicentres of the earthquakes<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n It has just gone 10.15pm in Caracas. As darkness settles over the capital, we have some more photos from the desperate rescue efforts that will continue through the night.<\/p>\n Emergency services workers look for trapped people inside a collapsed building in Caracas. Photograph: Gaby Or\u00e1a\/ReutersA woman sits alone as rescue efforts unfold. Photograph: Ronald Pena R\/EPARescuers search through the rubble of a collapsed building in Caracas. Photograph: Federico Parra\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA woman in La Guaira carries a child and runs to take cover. Photograph: Maxwell Briceno\/ReutersFire department workers rescue a person from the rubble in Caracas. Photograph: Ronald Pena R\/EPAShare<\/a> Amid fears over a potentially large number of casualties, Rodr\u00edguez called on doctors, nurses and other health workers \u201cto make their way to their work stations\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.09 EDT<\/p>\n Worst affected: Caracas, Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falc\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez has placed Gen Juan Ernesto Sulbar\u00e1n Quintero, the head of the Bolivarian National Guard gendarmerie, in charge of the military earthquake response.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez said that besides the capital, Caracas, the worst affected regions were the states of Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo and Falc\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.09 EDT<\/p>\n State of emergency declared, damaged Caracas airport closed Venezuela\u2019s interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, has announced a state of emergency. \u201cWe ask the population to remain calm and united,\u201d she said on state TV.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez said the country\u2019s main airport had been closed after suffering \u201csevere damage\u201d and announced that the metro and train systems had been halted. \u201cWe send our immediate condolences to those who have lost relatives,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez added, although she did not say how many casualties or fatalities there had been.<\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez urged citizens to evacuate damaged buildings.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.53 EDT<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s interim leader, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, is speaking now. We\u2019ll bring you the top lines.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Camille Rodr\u00edguez Montilla<\/p>\n Volunteers, medics and relatives of victims have raced to the Altamira area in Caracas hoping to help save survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings there.<\/p>\n \u201cI live far away [but] … I came here riding my motorbike as fast as I could,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Morillo, as he arrived outside a block of flats called Residencias Obelisco.<\/p>\n Morillo said several members of his family were inside the building at the time of the two earthquakes, shortly after 6pm local time. \u201cMy brother, my son and nephews are all inside. I have faith. I believe in God alot. I hope everyone is OK \u2013 but uncertainty is torture,\u201d the 61-year-old added as rescue workers combed the wreckage.<\/p>\n At about 9pm a teenage girl was pulled from the debris and carried into an ambulance. \u201cIt\u2019s my niece! It\u2019s my niece!\u201d Morillo could be heard shouting.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.41 EDT<\/p>\n Camille Rodr\u00edguez Montilla<\/p>\n Guardian reporter Camille Rodr\u00edguez Montilla is outside one of the residential buildings that has collapsed in Altamira, an upmarket area of Caracas, watching rescue workers and volunteers search for survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was horrible,\u201d one volunteer, Olky Barrero, a 56-year-old teacher, told her as the search went on. \u201cWe hope to God that there are as few victims as possible. We\u2019re praying.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere I was, it felt like the walls were going to fall on top of us, they were shaking back and forth, this way and that,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n At least two people were carried out of the building on Wednesday evening as night fell although it was unclear if the second was still alive.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Venezuela suffered ‘doublet’ earthquake event, USGS says<\/p>\n To recap some details about the two earthquakes:<\/p>\n The first magnitude 7.2 quake, with an epicenter 21 kms (13 miles) west of the coastal town of Moron, occurred at 2204 GMT, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. Within a minute, a 7.5-magnitude quake struck about 45km away.<\/p>\n \u201cThis earthquake was the second event in a doublet. This magnitude 7.5 mainshock was preceded by 39 seconds by a 7.2 foreshock,\u201d USGS said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.27 EDT<\/p>\n At Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, staff have been asked to double up on the night shift to \u2060help treat the injured, a worker has said. Video filmed at the hospital showed a darkened hallway with ceiling panels hanging by cables \u200band pieces of plaster scattered across the floor, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Delcy Rodr\u00edguez to address nation Venezuela\u2019s interim leader, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, just announced she will soon appear on television to address citizens following today\u2019s natural disaster. Earlier, the interior minsiter, Diosdado Cabello, urged Venezuelans to stay calm and refrain from entering damaged buildings given the risk of aftershocks.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>International airport in Caracas damaged: report One of the worst hit areas appears to have been La Guaira, a port city just north of Caracas on Venezuela\u2019s Caribbean coast.<\/p>\n La Guaira is home to Venezuela\u2019s main international airport, the Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar International Airport, and is also close to some of the hillside communities that came under attack by US forces, when Donald Trump ordered the 3 January attack on Venezuela this year to abduct its president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n One large beachfront hotel in La Guaira, Eduard\u2019s Hotel Boutique, appears to have suffered major damage with some videos showing parts of the building had been levelled by the quake.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n The airport has also been badly damaged, with footage showing travellers scattering for cover inside the terminal building as its roof started to come crashing down.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.00 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some images coming in from Caracas, Venezuela<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rescuers search for victims in a collapsed building. Photograph: Manaure Quintero\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA damaged apartment building in Caracas. Photograph: Manaure Quintero\/AFP\/Getty ImagesMunicipal police officers stand next to the remains of a collapsed structure. Photograph: Juan Barreto\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPeople gather after the earthquake. Photograph: Gaby Or\u00e1a\/ReutersA motorcyclist rides past debris in Caracas. Photograph: Ronald Pena R\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n The mayor of the Chacao district says the earthquakes have caused fatalities but he did not give a figure. Chacao is one of five political and administrative subdivisions of Caracas. We\u2019ll bring you updates as soon as we know more.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Many Venezuelans \u200cwere at home when the quakes struck because it was a public holiday. Some have spoken about what happened when the earthquakes hit.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as \u200cit started, we began hearing people screaming,\u201d said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old from Caracas. \u201cEveryone was running down the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n Residents across the capital city evacuated as buildings shook.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I\u2019ve never experienced anything like it,\u201d said Coro Martinez, 56, from eastern Caracas.<\/p>\n Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner in southern Caracas, said police helped her get out of her home. \u201cThis earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,\u201d she said. Caracas was hit by a deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 1967.<\/p>\n Another resident said she received an earthquake alert on her phone just before the shaking intensified.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a normal afternoon, and suddenly my phone sounded an earthquake alert,\u201d she said. \u201cAs I picked it up and started listening to what it was \u200bsaying, I first felt light shaking. Then, in less than two seconds, everything started moving.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.51 EDT<\/p>\n Welcome<\/p>\n Back-to-back powerful earthquakes hammered Venezuela<\/a> on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas.<\/p>\n The US Geological Survey said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and its epicentre was west of the community of Mor\u00f3n, located along the country\u2019s Caribbean coast, about 168km (104 miles) west of Caracas. The quake had a depth of 13km (8 miles). Initial reports said the earthquake was a magnitude 7.1.<\/p>\n Minutes later, the USGS reported an even larger 7.5-magnitude earthquake. The second quake had a depth of 10km and its epicentre was 16km (10 miles) south-west of Mor\u00f3n.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh casualties \u2060and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,\u201d the USGS said.<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\nTom Phillips<\/p>\n