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The biggest and most painful news of this time is coming from the South American country Venezuela. Such a terrible orgy of nature has been witnessed in a large part of the country including the Venezuelan capital Caracas, which has shaken the entire world. Two powerful and destructive earthquakes that came one after the other have started turning the entire country into a pile of debris.
Due to this severe natural disaster, thousands of multi-storey buildings and residential houses have been completely razed to the ground. According to the preliminary report of the US Geological Survey (USGS), considering the magnitude of this mega-earthquake, there has been a massive devastation and a scary fear has been raised that more than 10,000 people may have died due to being buried under the debris. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, the Venezuelan government has imposed a State of Emergency in the entire country with immediate effect.
Two devastating earthquakes within a minute
According to meteorological and geological scientists, the chronology of this earthquake in Venezuela was very scary. The first earthquake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter at a depth of just 13 kilometers below ground, about 160 kilometers west of the capital Caracas. Just one minute before people could recover from this shock, a second and more powerful mainshock of 7.5 magnitude was recorded. The epicenter of the second earthquake was 16 kilometers south-west of the city of Morón, at a depth of only 10 kilometers from the ground. Due to such shallow depth, the earthquake proved to be extremely destructive.
International airport collapsed, air services completely halted
This massive earthquake has completely destroyed the main infrastructure of Venezuela. The main ‘Simón Bolívar International Airport’ of the capital Caracas has been completely damaged by this earthquake. The main building of the airport and large sections of the roof collapsed like a deck of cards, leaving a thick and dark cloud of dust over the entire runway and surrounding sky. Keeping security in mind, the government has immediately closed the airport indefinitely and all national and international airlines coming to and from the country have been completely canceled.
There was massive devastation in many states; Home Minister issued statement
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has confirmed the magnitude of the situation by appearing live on state television. Addressing the nation with a heavy heart, he said, “Many skyscrapers and hundreds of houses in the capital Caracas have collapsed like a deck of cards. The impact of this earthquake is not limited to the capital only, but major states like Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Miranda, Aragua and La Guerra have also been completely ruined by it.” He has appealed to the drivers to keep the roads clear so that ambulances and rescue team vehicles can reach the affected areas without any hindrance.
Public holiday celebrating independence turned into mourning
The heartbreaking thing is that when this earthquake occurred in the evening, most of the Venezuelans were present in their homes. At that time, the national holiday of ‘Military Victory of 1821’ was being celebrated in the country to commemorate the independence from Spain. People were in a celebratory mood when suddenly the earth trembled.
Coro Martínez, 56, a resident of eastern Caracas, shared his horrifying experience, saying, “Suddenly there was a very loud bang, as if a bomb had exploded. All the things kept inside the house, the cupboards and the heavy jugs kept inside the fridge fell down in the blink of an eye. The walls started cracking and we ran towards the road barefoot to save our lives. I had never experienced such a horrifying scene in my entire life.”
Big danger of tsunami in the sea; American agency’s red alert
Immediately after the earthquake, the US Tsunami Warning System issued a large and high-level alert for the coastal areas of the Caribbean Sea. According to the agency, due to this powerful earthquake, dangerous and huge waves can arise in the sea.
The following areas have been kept under the scope of this tsunami warning:
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Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands.
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Islands located off the main coast of Venezuela.
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Coastal areas of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire.
The administration has given strict instructions to the local people and tourists living in all these island areas and coastal areas to immediately move to safe and higher places.
Searching for life in the debris; Large scale rescue operation started
According to preliminary satellite calculations by the USGS pager system, the death toll from the disaster could easily exceed 10,000, as many high-rise residential societies in dense areas like Caracas’ Altamira were razed to the ground. However, due to debris and dust, the official figure of exact deaths at the ground level has not been released yet. Venezuela’s Red Cross, army and disaster management teams are on war footing to rescue survivors trapped under the debris. Relief operations are facing huge difficulties due to complete shutdown of electricity and mobile networks.