CARACAS — The first tremor hit at 3:47 a.m. The second, just 12 minutes later. By dawn, whole blocks in the coastal state of Sucre looked like a giant fist had slammed them flat. Rescuers are now clawing through twisted metal and pulverized concrete, pulling out the living — and the dead.
Two earthquakes, magnitudes 7.1 and 6.9, struck within a quarter-hour early Thursday, collapsing apartment buildings, schools, and a hospital. The official death toll stands at 47, but that number is expected to climb. Hundreds are missing. Thousands are homeless.
“We heard screaming from under the rubble for hours,” said María Fernanda López, a volunteer rescuer in Cumaná, the hardest-hit city. “We got a 5-year-old girl out alive. Her parents are still in there.”
The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency in three states — Sucre, Anzoátegui, and Monagas — and deployed 5,000 troops to assist in search-and-rescue operations. But the response has been slow. The country’s crumbling infrastructure, battered by years of economic collapse and U.S. sanctions, is buckling under the weight of another disaster.
‘We Can’t Reach Them’
In the town of Cariaco, a hillside community of 30,000, at least 15 buildings pancaked into heaps of debris. Residents used their bare hands and shovels to dig for neighbors. Heavy machinery is scarce. Many roads are blocked by landslides.
“We need bulldozers, we need cutting torches, we need more doctors,” said Dr. Héctor Rivas, who set up a triage center in a parking lot. “We are running out of supplies — bandages, oxygen, even painkillers.”
The earthquakes hit a country already in crisis. Venezuela is in its eighth year of hyperinflation. Hospitals lack basic medicines. The power grid is unreliable. And the government of President Nicolás Maduro has been accused of mismanaging previous disasters, including the 2021 floods that killed dozens.
“This is a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe,” said analyst Carlos Mendoza of the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. “The government’s capacity to respond is near zero. They’re relying on international aid they won’t ask for.”
Indeed, Maduro’s government has not formally requested assistance from the United Nations or other international bodies. State-run media is broadcasting footage of rescue efforts, but independent journalists have been blocked from some disaster zones.
‘The Ground Opened Up’
Survivors describe a night of terror. “I felt the bed shake, then the walls cracked, and the ceiling fell,” said Anaís Contreras, 34, who was pulled from her apartment in Barcelona, Anzoátegui state, with a broken arm. “I thought I was going to die. The ground opened up like a mouth.”
Seismologists say the quakes were shallow — about 10 kilometers deep — which amplified their destructive power. The first quake struck near the town of Río Caribe. The second, slightly smaller but still devastating, hit further inland. Aftershocks continue to rattle the region, complicating rescue efforts.
In the city of Maturín, a school collapsed during an early morning shift. At least 12 children and 3 teachers are dead. “We lost half my classroom,” said a teacher who asked not to be named, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know how to tell the parents.”
Waiting for Help
International offers of aid have trickled in. Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico have offered search teams and supplies. The U.S. government, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela, said it stands “ready to assist in any way possible.” But the Venezuelan government has yet to accept any foreign help, citing “logistical challenges.”
Critics say that’s a smokescreen. “They don’t want foreign eyes on the ground because it will expose their incompetence,” said María Corina Machado, a prominent opposition leader. “People are dying while the government plays politics.”
The Maduro administration has denied any delay. In a televised address, Interior Minister Néstor Reverol said, “We have mobilized all available resources. The Bolivarian National Armed Forces are working tirelessly. We will not rest until every Venezuelan is safe.”
But on the ground, the story is different. In Cumaná, families stood outside flattened buildings, waiting for news. Cellphone service is spotty. Power is out in many areas. The stench of natural gas leaks hangs in the air.
A Nation on the Edge
Even before the earthquakes, Venezuela was a country in freefall. The economy has contracted by 80% since 2013. More than 6 million people have fled the country. Those who remain face shortages of food, medicine, and clean water. The quakes have only deepened the despair.
“We have nothing left,” said José Gregorio, 52, sifting through the rubble of his home in Cumaná. “My wife, my two children — I don’t know if they are alive. I don’t know what to do.”
For many, the disaster is a brutal reminder of the cost of political failure. “This didn’t have to be this bad,” said Mendoza. “A competent government with functioning infrastructure would have saved lives. Instead, we have a government that can’t even provide basic services in a crisis.”
As night fell on Thursday, rescue teams continued their work by flashlight. The hope is that more survivors will be found. But the clock is ticking. For those trapped beneath the rubble, every hour is a fight for breath.
In the parking lot triage center, Dr. Rivas looked at the row of bodies covered with sheets. “We need a miracle,” he said. “Or at least a government that gives a damn.”
