A coastal state north of Venezuela’s capital, lying directly above major earthquake faults, sustained some of the worst damage from two earthquakes that hit the country on Wednesday, photos and videos show.
The heavily damaged area is more than 100 miles from the epicenters of the quakes, which hit one after another on Wednesday night. But major fault lines run directly from the area near the epicenters to the coast.
Dozens of large buildings in the northern state, La Guaira, completely collapsed. A video from one neighborhood near Venezuela’s biggest international airport showed a line of apartment buildings and other buildings damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations’ main humanitarian agency reported that more than 100 buildings in the state of La Guaira had collapsed, saying local capacity was overwhelmed.
Venezuelans are only beginning to grapple with the scale of the destruction, and rescue crews intensified their search for survivors on Thursday.
Damage could also be seen in the capital, Caracas, especially along the north side of the city, which sits above another earthquake fault.
Photos showed the Petunia residential building, in the city’s northern Los Palos Grandes district, reduced to rubble.
A block away, another office building was flattened.