Venezuela declares state of emergency after earthquakes, closes main airport

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after two powerful earthquakes struck the country's central region, causing severe damage and forcing the closure of the main international airport serving Caracas. Source: larepublicacoSource: diariolibree

What happened

Two earthquakes, of magnitudes 7.5 and 7.2, hit within seconds of each other, according to the U.S. tsunami warning system. Source: diariolibree Rodríguez announced the closure of the Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía due to structural damage, and suspended metro and railway services. Source: larepublicaco Building collapses were reported in Caracas and across several states, including Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón. Source: larepublicaco

Impact and response

The government activated all public and private health networks to treat the injured, though no casualty figures were provided. Source: diariolibree Classes were suspended for the rest of the week, and gas service was cut in affected areas as a safety precaution. Source: larepublicaco Rodríguez urged citizens to evacuate structurally compromised homes and maintain calm. Source: larepublicaco

International solidarity

Rodríguez thanked governments including the United States, Panama, Qatar, Cuba, Nicaragua, Turkey, Jordan, Barbados, Curaçao, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, and the United Nations for expressing solidarity. Source: larepublicaco