The Venezuelan government has officially declared a national state of emergency after a catastrophic pair of powerful, back-to-back earthquakes struck the country’s northern coast, killing at least 164 people and leaving 971 others injured.
​The rare seismic “doublet” the most destructive to hit the nation in decades—struck within less than a minute of each other on Wednesday evening, collapsing high-rise buildings, shattering infrastructure, and sending waves of panic through the capital city of Caracas and surrounding states.
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Acting President RodrÃguez assured the nation that rescuing those trapped under the debris remains the government’s absolute priority. “We are engaged in the arduous task of rescuing the lives that God allows us to save,” she said in a televised address. “Venezuela is facing a true tragedy.”
Officials urged citizens to remain outdoors or in designated open safe spaces, warning that more than 40 aftershocks have already rattled the weakened infrastructure, threatening further collapses.
​Emergency crews, military personnel, and frantic volunteers are working around the clock, digging through the rubble with heavy machinery and bare hands to locate trapped survivors. The death toll is expected to rise sharply as rescue teams finally reach isolated coastal villages.
​International aid has begun rapidly mobilizing, with neighboring countries and global humanitarian organizations dispatching specialized search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies, and temporary shelters to the disaster zones.
