Venezuela races to rescue quake survivors as death toll rises

Venezuelan doctors headed from the capital into La Guaira expecting to treat survivors pulled from collapsed homes, but they found a rescue scene defined by silence, broken roads and neighbors still clawing through debris by hand. The hardest-hit coastal state, north of Caracas, had already been declared a disaster zone as the quake toll climbed by the hour and the country’s main airport at Maiquetía shut down because of damage.

The disaster began on June 24, when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northern Venezuela and was followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 mainshock. The U.S. Geological Survey warned that high casualties and extensive damage were probable and later classified the event as likely widespread. The shaking was among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, with the worst damage concentrated in La Guaira and nearby Caracas.

The death toll rose from around 164 to about 235 and later climbed to more than 900 as rescue operations continued. Hundreds were injured and many more were trapped or missing under rubble. Doctors and first responders raced against the first 72 hours.

In Catia La Mar and other hard-hit communities, residents and volunteers dug through collapsed structures without enough heavy equipment to do the job safely or quickly. That left physicians and emergency crews to focus on triage, stabilizing the injured who could be reached while waiting for machinery, organized search teams and additional supplies to arrive. Aftershocks continued.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared La Guaira a disaster zone and, under the constitution, declared a state of emergency. The country’s main airport at Maiquetía was closed. International assistance was pledged and began to arrive, including rescue teams and dogs from several countries, as the search widened beyond the coast.

Communities in Caracas and the states of Aragua, Carabobo, Falcón, La Guaira and Miranda were affected.