Caracas, Venezuela. Rescue teams and residents searched for survivors on Friday after twin earthquakes killed 920 people and injured 3,360 in Caracas and surrounding areas, according to the government. Officials said 172 people remained trapped and more than 50,000 were reported missing nearly two days after the quakes.
Casualties and renewed tremor
The government said the quakes struck on Wednesday evening and devastated parts of the capital and nearby areas. On Friday afternoon, a weaker magnitude 4.9 tremor shook again and was felt in Caracas and nearby Maracay.
Relief efforts and shortages
Frustration grew over the uneven pace of relief in some of the hardest-hit areas, including La Guaira state, where residents and volunteers continued digging through rubble by hand amid shortages of heavy equipment and a limited official presence.
Jennifer Palacios, 25, said her 6-year-old son and five other relatives remained buried in La Guaira city’s eight-tower Hugo Chavez housing complex.
“It’s the community that has managed to get people out alive,” she said. “We need them to bring cranes to move the slabs. There are still people trapped.”
Damage assessment and political pressure
A U.N. report estimated direct damage from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes at about $6.7 billion. The second quake was Venezuela’s most powerful in more than a century.
The disaster could have political consequences for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has sought to portray herself as an agent of political change even though she served as vice president to the ousted Nicolas Maduro.
Conditions on the ground
Reuters witnesses traveled along highways cracked by the quakes and passed dozens of buildings reduced to broken concrete and twisted metal. Some ruins were spray-painted with building names to help rescuers identify locations.
Volunteers carried supplies on motorcycles from Caracas and Valencia.
