NEW DELHI: Venzuela, one of the poorest countries on the northern coast of South America with a population of 2.84 crore, was on Wednesday hit by two earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 richter scale in succession of a minute strongest in the country that is suspected to have killed thousands, though its government’s official figure is 32, and collapse of buildings.
The powerful back-to-back earthquakes killed at least 32 people and injured at least 700, the nation’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said, as communities across the South American country sustained damage.
Offers of help were made by various governments, including the United States, India, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay.
The earthquakes roiled the region, with buildings evacuated in cities and areas impacted as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. The earthquakes damaged and closed Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, the country’s main airport. School classes are to be cancelled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings will be used as shelters and donation centers.
Buildings in Manaus, Belem and Macapa in Brazil’s Amazon were evacuated, according to reports on TV Globo. The quakes were also felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeast regions, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued several tsunami alerts in the wake of the earthquakes that were quickly lifted.
Strong earthquakes are unusual in Venezuela. While the country sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
Earthquakes are frequent along the Pacific coast, including in Mexico and Chile, which both sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the Ring of Fire, an area that the USGS said is responsible for 90 per cent of earthquakes.
