Twin earthquakes rock Venezuela, killing more than 150 people

Twin earthquakes in Venezuela on Wednesday killed at least 15032 people and injured more than 700, prompting a nationwide state of emergency.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, collapsing buildings and damaging communities across several states. She warned that the death toll is expected to rise as rescuers comb rubble in the hardest-hit coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas.

Authorities reported extensive damage in the capital, where collapsed structures, power outages and downed phone service left residents on the streets into the night. Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas was closed, and subway service and natural gas supplies in the city were suspended. Schools were shuttered for several days, with some buildings converted into shelters and donation centers.

The first quake, a 7.2-magnitude one, hit west of Morón on the Caribbean coast at shallow depth, followed less than a minute later by a 7.5 main shock southwest of the town, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, the tremors were felt as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region and Colombia’s Caribbean coast, where buildings were evacuated. No major damage, however, was reported there.

“The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!! President DJT.”

“America stands with the Venezuelan people during this difficult time, and at the direction of President Trump, the State Department is immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday in a post on X.

Jeremy P. Lewin, the U.S. undersecretary of state for foreign assistance, said the U.S. State Department “has already mobilized a disaster assistance team and task force to deliver and coordinate critical assistance to the Venezuelan people. Working with our partners in the interim Venezuelan government, the U.S. will be sending search and rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies and other resources in the crucial first days after this tragic natural disaster.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry is preparing for the possibility of dispatching a humanitarian aid delegation to Venezuela, Hebrew-language media reported on Thursday, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations or an Israeli embassy in the country.

The ministry said it had not received any reports of Israelis killed, injured or missing in the aftermath of the quakes.

IsraAID, an Israeli non-governmental organization that partners with local communities to assist people affected by humanitarian crises and disasters worldwide, wrote on X that it is “urgently responding to the devastating 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that have struck Venezuela through the night,” adding that more updates will come as the situation develops.

The emergency response group ZAKA is preparing to deploy teams from Mexico, the United States and Israel, depending on conditions on the ground.

Magen David Adom said it is in contact with the Venezuelan Red Cross and noted that no independent missions are currently departing directly from Israel. The organization added that it is preparing to mobilize should a decision be made to send a delegation.