Deadly back-to-back earthquakes strike Venezuela, collapse buildings
A pair of strong earthquakes struck Venezuela Wednesday evening, bringing extensive damage. As of Thursday morning, the country is under a state of emergency.
Rescuers from across Venezuela are responding to collapsed buildings in the capital of Caracas after back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck near San Felipe, Venezuela, on Wednesday afternoon, quickly followed by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, causing widespread damage and claiming dozens of lives.
Tsunami advisories were issued for coasts with 300 kilometers of the epicenter, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands following the quakes, but were dropped shortly a few hours later.
Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez has declared a statement of an emergency, with extensive damage across the country, including in the capital city of Caracas. The Caracas International Airport reportedly took damage as well, and as of Thursday morning is still closed. According to the Associated Press, there have been at least 32 fatalities and 700 injured as of Thursday morning.
According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 7.5 earthquake was the largest in Venezuela since Oct. 29, 1900, when a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck northeast of Caracas, near the coast. In recent years, the country faced a magnitude 7.3 earthquake near Carúpano on August 21, 2018.
People ran as parts of the Simon Bolivar International Airport collapsed around them during a major earthquake on June 24.
This is a developing news story. Continue to check back with AccuWeather for more details as they become available.
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