The death toll from the pair of powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday rose to at least 235, with more than 4,300 injured, Venezuelan Health Minister Carlos Alvarado said on state broadcaster VTV as of 7 p.m. local time Thursday, according to Venezuelan outlet Globovision.
Rescue crews continued to scour the rubble of collapsed buildings for survivors, with officials warning that the number of casualties is expected to rise further. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said some 250 buildings were damaged across northern Venezuela by the two quakes — a magnitude-7.2 temblor followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude-7.5 quake — that struck near the capital Caracas on Wednesday evening, collapsing dozens of structures. He said approximately 200 people remained trapped under debris and more than 150 people were listed as missing.
“The main mission we all have at this hour is to be united,” Jorge Rodríguez said in a statement Thursday. “It is to set aside any form of diatribe, any form of situation, position or opinion that divides us, and become a single force, a single voice, a single person, a sea of arms that helps and cares for the people who have directly suffered the hardships of this tragedy.”
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed that international search-and-rescue support had been arranged, with specialized teams certified by the United Nations already en route. “Specialized rescuers certified by the U.N. system are already being sent and are on their way to our country to support these efforts,” she said in a statement.
El Salvador dispatched 188 rescuers who have arrived in Venezuela to join the search efforts, Rodríguez announced.
U.S. Southern Command said it was deploying military assets to support the relief operation, including the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings. In a statement early Friday, SOUTHCOM said its leadership had arrived in Caracas to coordinate support. The Trump administration said the State Department is mobilizing $150 million in assistance to Venezuela through partner organizations on the ground. As MSI reported earlier this week, the back-to-back quakes struck a densely populated region on a national holiday, collapsing buildings across the capital and posing an immediate humanitarian challenge for Rodríguez’s interim government (MSI previously reported).