World News

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes that levelled buildings and caused extensive damage in and around the capital, Caracas.

“We ask the population to remain calm and united,” Rodríguez said in a televised broadcast on Wednesday night, urging citizens to evacuate damaged structures.

The quakes – among the largest in Venezuela’s history – occurred in quick succession and were felt in many parts of the country. But the worst destruction appeared to have taken place in and around Caracas where videos on social media showed scenes of panic as passengers raced through the corridors of Maiquetía airport seeking cover from falling debris.

Rodríguez said that airport had been closed after suffering “severe damage” and announced that the metro and train systems had been halted. “We send our immediate condolences to those who have lost relatives,” the acting president added, although she did not say how many casualties or fatalities there had been.

The US Geological Survey said Venezuela had been hit by two quakes: a magnitude 7.5 “mainshock” and a 7.2 “foreshock” 39 seconds earlier. The epicentre was west of the community of Moron, located along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, about 168 kilometres (104 miles) west of Caracas. The quake had a depth of 13 kilometres (8 miles).

“A seismic event that everything suggests was considerably above 7 points has taken place. There are several complicated areas … very alarming areas from the visual point of view, with buildings and homes that have collapsed,” the interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, told the state broadcaster VTV.