Twin Earthquakes Devastate Venezuela, Killing at Least 188 in Caracas Region

Two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas and killing at least 188 people in the country's deadliest natural disaster in generations. More than 1,520 people were injured and roughly 157 remained missing on Thursday as rescue crews clawed through rubble in search of survivors.

The first quake, a magnitude 7.2 foreshock, hit around 6 p.m. near the town of San Felipe, about 100 miles west of the capital. It was followed just 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 mainshock centered near Yumare — the strongest earthquake to hit Venezuela in more than a century. Seismologists called the back-to-back rupture a rare "doublet," a sequence in which one large quake triggers a second of comparable size almost immediately, leaving little time for people to flee weakened buildings.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, saying several Venezuelan states had sustained heavy damage. The coastal region of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, was hit hardest; a United Nations humanitarian agency reported that more than 100 buildings had collapsed there. In Valencia, entire apartment blocks crumbled, and at Simón Bolívar International Airport part of the terminal roof caved in, forcing the country's main gateway to close. Video verified by news organizations showed travelers sprinting across the concourse as ceiling panels rained down.

The United States Geological Survey warned that the death toll could climb dramatically, estimating that fatalities might ultimately range from 1,000 to more than 10,000, with economic losses likely in the billions of dollars. "We are facing a tragedy of enormous proportions," Rodríguez said in a televised address, urging residents to stay out of damaged structures as aftershocks continued to rattle the region.

International aid began mobilizing within hours. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was deploying two of its most experienced urban search-and-rescue teams — from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County — and Washington pledged roughly $150 million in assistance. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would respond rapidly, calling the reports of casualties "devastating." China, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico also offered teams and supplies as the search stretched into a second night.

For a nation already strained by years of economic collapse and political turmoil, the disaster compounds an acute humanitarian crisis. Hospitals in Caracas treated the wounded in hallways and parking lots, and power and mobile-phone service failed across wide areas, complicating rescue coordination. Officials said nearly 3,000 families had been directly affected, and aid groups warned that the toll would almost certainly rise as crews reached buildings still buried beneath debris.