The death toll from the powerful back-to-back earthquakes that devastated northern Venezuela has climbed above 900 as emergency crews continue searching through collapsed buildings for survivors, with officials warning the number is expected to rise.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced Friday that at least 920 people have been killed and 3,360 others injured, according to Yahoo News. Rodríguez, the brother of acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, said rescue teams are only now beginning to reach communities that have remained inaccessible since the earthquakes struck, suggesting additional casualties are likely to be discovered.
The disaster unfolded Wednesday evening when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck west of Caracas near the town of Morón, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Just 39 seconds later, a second and even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit the region, delivering another devastating blow. The pair of quakes ranks among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.
Before rescue operations fully unfolded, USGS modeling projected a significant possibility of catastrophic loss of life. The agency estimated there was a 42% chance that fatalities could exceed 10,000 people. Officials emphasized, however, that the projection is a statistical estimate rather than a confirmed death toll.
The coastal state of La Guaira suffered some of the most extensive destruction and has since been placed under military control as authorities coordinate rescue operations and search for survivors, Yahoo News reported.
Thousands of families remain desperate for information about missing loved ones. A website established to track those unaccounted for contains more than 46,000 names, although officials have not verified that figure. Reuters separately reported that more than 50,000 people remain missing, while also noting the U.S. Geological Survey believes the final death toll could ultimately exceed 10,000.
The disaster has also claimed the lives of foreign nationals. According to ABC News, at least 18 citizens from other countries were among those killed, including nine from Portugal, three from Spain, two from Brazil, two from China, and two from Chile.
International assistance has begun arriving as rescue efforts intensify. The first U.S. search-and-rescue aircraft landed in Venezuela on Friday carrying an 80-member team that included firefighters, physicians, structural engineers, and canine search units, ABC News reported.
The deployment was ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the direction of President Donald Trump as the United States joined efforts to assist with rescue operations following the catastrophic earthquakes.
Rescue crews continue to dig through collapsed buildings and piles of rubble in hopes of locating survivors as the full scope of the disaster remains uncertain. With numerous communities still difficult to access, officials expect casualty figures to continue changing in the coming days.
The earthquake crisis has struck Venezuela at a time when the country is already facing significant economic challenges and a strained healthcare system, according to NPR. The disaster also comes just five months after U.S. forces seized former dictator Nicolás Maduro during a raid in Caracas, adding another layer of complexity to relations between Washington and Venezuela as humanitarian assistance is now underway.
As emergency workers race against time, authorities continue assessing the widespread destruction left behind by one of the most powerful seismic events to hit the country in generations.
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