VENEZUELA ~ Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas was rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes on Wednesday, killing 164 and injuring nearly 1,000 people so far.
The quakes were detected about 100 miles west of the capital in Northern Venezuela, with the first measuring at a 7.2 magnitude. Another quake measuring at 7.5 occurred a minute after, followed by multiple aftershocks. Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency following the quakes.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams” and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela. This follows the U.S. abducting the nation’s elected leader, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year in January.
Estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey suggested that the death toll may rise to over 10,000 people. This was the strongest earthquake in the country since 1900.
