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The death toll in Venezuela has climbed to at least 164 following devastating earthquakes, while 971 others have been confirmed injured, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez announced in an update early on Thursday.
According to CNN, authorities fear that the actual number of fatalities could be significantly higher due to the vast number of destroyed and damaged buildings, as emergency teams press on with search and rescue operations. Rodriguez noted that the region has been rattled by at least 30 aftershocks following the primary twin tremors. In an interview with Venezuela's state broadcaster, Rodriguez stated that she is coordinating with the United Nations to deploy rescue teams, CNN reported. She is also in discussions with the International Monetary Fund to establish an initial fund of USD 200 million for the reconstruction of the nation. The powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela during the early hours of Thursday (Indian Standard Time), causing massive destruction and flattening buildings in the capital city of Caracas. According to officials and monitoring agencies, the twin quakes stand as the most powerful seismic events to strike the Latin American country in a century. Data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that the first tremor measured a magnitude of 7.1, striking at a shallow depth of 13 kilometres, with its epicentre situated west of Moron, a coastal community around 168 kilometres west of Caracas. Barely 40 seconds later, a more violent 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the exact same area at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre roughly 16 kilometres southwest of Moron, severely intensifying the impact across the affected zones. Following the severe seismic activity, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued tsunami alerts for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, though these warnings were subsequently withdrawn. (ANI)
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