Dramatic Footage Captures Devastation From Venezuela’s Deadly Earthquake

Disturbing video footage has laid bare the destruction and panic that swept through Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes struck overnight.  

The consecutive 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude tremors hit near the coastline, prompting frightened residents to rush from shaking apartment buildings as walls gave way and thick dust clouds spread across the capital.

‘High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,’ the US Geological Survey said, ‘with an initial death toll estimate likely between 10,000 and 100,000.’

By Thursday, officials in Venezuela reported that at least 164 people had died, with hundreds of others injured. 

The twin earthquakes rank among the most powerful to hit Venezuela in more than 100 years, despite major seismic events being relatively rare in the country. 

One especially alarming clip showed the front of a building crumbling onto a crowded street, sending pedestrians sprinting for safety. 

People could be heard screaming as they ran, with some helping others back to their feet amid the chaos. 

A dense surge of dust and debris then swept through the area, appearing to engulf and disorient those caught in the street.

The man filming the clip was heard shouting someone’s name, apparently fearing the worst. 

Car alarms were heard blaring as bricks and mortar continued to fall. 

In another clip, the top of a building appeared to fall several storeys and crash onto the street below, while in a third clip, glass could be heard shattering as buildings on a dense street were rocked violently. 

In footage from inside Simón Bolívar International Airport, a child was heard screaming in terror as many of the building’s internal structures collapsed. 

As the whole airport shook, terrified people ran for their lives. Lights flickered on and off as the quake rattled electrical infrastructure. 

Swathes of the airport’s ceiling collapsed, leaving a plume of dust from broken construction material in the air. 

Women were seen trying desperately to carry small children while guiding their families to safety. 

Following the second earthquake, rescuers jumped into action and began searching for any and all signs of life. 

In one clip shared across the world, a large group of first responders were seen working to pull survivors from the rubble of a collapsed building. 

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Local residents of a collapsed building were seen working in tandem with the rescuers to get their area cleared as soon as possible, though many watched in horror from the sidelines as countless people scrambled over what once would’ve been their homes.   

One shocking clip showed a group of people at a baseball stadium, watching in horror as a far off building collapsed and left a mass of dust floating through the air. 

A horrified onlooker was heard exclaiming: ‘Dio mio… [My god]’ 

A clip taken in the city of La Guaira showed the sun setting over a building that had almost completely collapsed. 

Drivers were heard slamming on their horns, while people on-foot were heard mourning the destruction of their city. Smoke was seen rising across La Guaira, each tower coming from another part of the municipality. 

The camera pans to another building, this one totally destroyed. A maroon car was seen crushed, with its back end poking out from under the mountain of rubble. 

A man was seen wrapping a large strap around the wreck, setting up an attempt to pull it free with another vehicle. 

In another clip from La Guaira, a man on a motorcycle captured entire homes upended following the earthquake.

Two people were seen in the footage looking in through the fence, staring at the decimated building.  

The motorcycle driver then drove past a building that has almost completely collapsed, with just its ground floor staying upright. 

Although the epicentre was on land, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said tsunami waves were possible along the coasts of Venezuela, Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba.

The first tremor happened at 6:04pm Venezuela time about 17 miles northwest of Montalbán, Venezuela and about 104 miles west of Caracas. The quake had a depth of 8 miles. 

A second powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 then struck the country just one minute later, according to the USGS. 

The second quake had a depth of 6 miles and its epicentre was 10 miles southwest of the city of Morón, Venezuela.

The quakes struck while many Venezuelans were at home marking Battle of Carabobo Day, the public holiday commemorating the 1821 victory that helped secure the country’s independence from Spain.  

While Venezuela 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. 

Along the Pacific coast – in Mexico and Chile, for example – earthquakes are frequent; the two countries sit along the seismically active tectonic belt known as the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire,’ responsible for 90% of earthquakes, according to the USGS.