{"id":5369,"date":"2026-06-25T19:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5369"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:36:25","slug":"venezuelans-search-rubble-for-survivors-after-2-strong-quakes-kill-at-least-188","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5369","title":{"rendered":"Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 188"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JUAN PABLO ARRAEZ, REGINA GARCIA CANO and MEGAN JANETSKY, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) \u2014 Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of\u00a0powerful earthquakes\u00a0that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped. More were feared dead.<\/p>

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The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured and thousands were reported missing across the country. The coastal region of La Guaira, which is north of the capital, Caracas, experienced some of the heaviest damage and casualties, officials said.<\/p>\n

Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil\u2019s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Caracas, where the country\u2019s main airport was damaged and closed.<\/p>\n

In cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into the streets and many walked among the debris searching for the missing. Injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood were pulled out of concrete rubble. Some families sobbed in grief in front of their destroyed homes.<\/p>\n

In La Guaira, retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Menda\u00f1o climbed through wreckage and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod, let them rescue her as quickly as possible,\u201d said Menda\u00f1o. \u201cWhen we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.\u201d<\/p>\n

At another damaged apartment complex, residents shouted the names of missing people: \u201cMirna! Marquitos!\u201d<\/p> \n

Offers of help poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela\u2019s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.<\/p>\n

The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro\u2019s capture. Venezuela has been facing\u00a0economic disarray\u00a0for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of\u00a0the political movement Rodriguez represents.<\/p>\n