CARACAS, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The shaking began shortly after 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Wednesday in Caracas, where Xinhua correspondents were on the scene.
Inside their residence, doors and windows rattled violently. A bookshelf toppled over. Cracks appeared in a flower bed in the courtyard. Moments later, the sound of breaking glass came from inside the house.
Within less than a minute, Venezuela was struck by two powerful earthquakes, both above magnitude 7. The tremors were reportedly felt across much of the country.
The quakes caused voltage fluctuations and a brief power outage in the residential area. Many residents soon gathered in open spaces, staying away from buildings as fears of aftershocks spread.
"I was very scared," said Luis Mijares, a security guard in the neighborhood. "Fortunately, the guard booth is small, so I was able to get out quickly. But the TV signal suddenly cut off, and the screen went blank."
Mijares showed Xinhua videos circulating on social media. Some footage showed collapsed buildings in downtown Caracas, with dust and smoke hanging over parts of the city. Other images showed police and rescue workers searching through rubble for possible survivors.
As reports came in from across the capital and nearby areas, Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday that the twin quakes that struck late Wednesday had left at least 32 people dead and around 700 injured.
Earlier, she declared a national state of emergency and announced the closure of Maiquetia International Airport, the main airport serving Caracas.
Rodriguez also ordered the suspension of classes and nonessential activities nationwide for the rest of the week, and called on medical personnel across the country to assist in treating the injured.
Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a televised address on Wednesday night that the earthquakes affected several cities and caused multiple building collapses in eastern Caracas.
In Chacao, a municipality in Miranda state near Caracas, Mayor Gustavo Duque said on social media that two buildings had collapsed and more than 500 rescue workers were conducting search-and-rescue operations. He said 18 injured people had been rescued so far. Meanwhile, Darwin Gonzalez, mayor of Baruta in Miranda state, said three people died after the collapse of two structures in the Las Minas parish.
Independent journalists and local media also reported deaths and missing people after building collapses in La Guaira state, which Rodriguez described as a "disaster zone." In the Pinto Salinas area of east-central Caracas, local journalists said rescue teams had recovered two bodies from a collapsed building, while searches for survivors continued.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Montalvan, Venezuela, at a depth of 10 km. Less than a minute later, a magnitude 7.5 quake hit the country, also at a depth of 10 km. The first quake was later revised to magnitude 7.2.
The USGS also issued a red alert, warning that the earthquakes were expected to cause significant casualties and widespread damage, with economic losses estimated at 2 percent to 20 percent of Venezuela's gross domestic product. ■
