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Quakes, missing, mounting toll
In Venezuela’s state of La Guaira, rescuers and civilians searched for earthquake survivors as the death toll rose sharply to 1,430 and families reported at least 68,900 people missing Saturday, three days after 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes devastated the South American nation.
“LA GUAIRA, Venezuela -- Tensions flared Saturday as desperation grew in Venezuela's state of La Guaira as rescuers and civilians searched for earthquake survivors and the death toll rose sharply to 1,430”
The quakes struck Wednesday night, and ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Venezuelans in seaside Caraballeada used shovels, heavy equipment, ropes and bare hands atop mounds of toppled concrete while international rescue teams climbed through rubble.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said on state television that more than 14,000 members of the military and police were patrolling the area, where access was blocked and special permits were required to enter.
NPR quoted U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist William Barnhart saying, "A magnitude 7.2 earthquake alone in this region would be devastating," and added that it was followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
NPR also said Barnhart noted the pair struck on land close to major population centers, making them especially deadly, as aftershocks shook Caracas and areas hit by the quakes, including one measuring 4.8 on Saturday.
Rescue window and aid
ABC7 Los Angeles said aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if there is access to food and water, as tensions flared over what many Venezuelans viewed as an inadequate government response.
ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Venezuelan officials said 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue team members had touched down by Saturday, while frustration grew as some disaster-zone residents said they had seen little of the government.
In Caraballeada, Mileidy Romero told ABC7 Los Angeles, "At 8 p.m. (yesterday) there were people alive down there, and they haven't bothered to rescue them."
NPR described how Barnhart said the two quakes may have occurred on two separate faults and that several faults intersect in the tectonically complex region, complicating efforts to identify a single easily identifiable fault.
NPR also quoted paleoseismologist Chris Goldfinger saying, "We always tend to kind of assume that earthquakes will just be on one fault and only on one fault," as experts weighed what the multifault scenario means for future risk.
International response and stakes
As international rescue efforts expanded, New York Post reported that authorities said at least 920 had died and 3,360 were injured, while the United States Geological Survey said there’s a 40% chance the death toll could climb to 10,000 and a 30% chance it will eclipse 100,000.
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The New York Post also said the State Department announced it was sending $150 million in aid, and SOUTHCOM said Urban Search and Rescue teams based in Los Angeles and Fairfax, Va., were being transported by two US Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
NPR framed the stakes in technical terms, with Barnhart saying, "But it was followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that's about three times more powerful," and describing how the timing and proximity to population centers amplified devastation.
People reported that a frightened puppy was found alive beneath the debris after the earthquakes struck on June 24, with video obtained by Storyful showing firefighters gently pulling the dog to safety before offering it a drink of water.
El País described how, almost 72 hours after the double earthquake, the La Guaira area smelled of death and authorities spent Saturday collecting up to 20 bodies per hour, while Delcy Rodríguez’s government improvised eight new morgues where corpses were piling up.
