At least 164 people have been confirmed dead and 971 injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the updated figures on the country’s state television on Thursday. The quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and were felt across the region.
Footage broadcast on state television showed rescuers pulling three dust-covered children alive from the rubble in La Guaira state, which suffered the most severe damage. Rodríguez declared La Guaira a disaster zone, noting that numerous buildings had collapsed and that rescue and relief operations were being intensified in the area.
Authorities have focused emergency efforts on search, rescue, and relief operations in the worst-affected zones as the country assesses the full extent of the destruction.