At least 188 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured after two consecutive earthquakes struck near Venezuela’s port city of La Guaira early Monday, officials said, with hundreds feared trapped under collapsed buildings as rescue efforts intensified. The toll, confirmed by Venezuela’s National Guard and regional authorities, is expected to rise.
The first quake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, struck at 3:37 a.m. local time, followed by a second, stronger tremor of 7.7 magnitude just 20 minutes later, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter was located approximately 34 kilometers north of Caracas, the capital, near the coastal city of Carirubana, but La Guaira—home to Venezuela’s primary port and a major transit hub for food and fuel imports—bore the brunt of the damage.
Why was La Guaira so heavily affected?
La Guaira’s vulnerability stems from its proximity to the Caribbean coast and its dense urban infrastructure, much of which was built without modern seismic standards, according to engineers with the Venezuelan Association of Earthquake Engineers. “The port area has a high concentration of informal settlements and older concrete structures that simply cannot withstand tremors of this magnitude,” said Carlos Mendoza, a structural engineer based in Caracas. “We’re seeing entire blocks reduced to rubble where buildings were already weakened by years of neglect.”
Residents described scenes of chaos as aftershocks continued to rock the region. “The ground didn’t just shake—it moved like waves,” said María López, a local resident interviewed by Reuters. “People are still running through the streets, afraid to go back into their homes.” The port’s main terminal, a critical node for Venezuela’s imports, sustained significant damage, raising immediate concerns about food and medical supply chains already strained by U.S. sanctions and economic collapse.
How are rescue efforts progressing?
Venezuela’s National Guard, supported by international aid groups including the Red Cross, has deployed over 500 personnel to La Guaira, but coordination remains disjointed amid reports of communication breakdowns. “We’re facing a logistical nightmare,” said a guard official, who requested anonymity. “Some areas are still inaccessible due to landslides, and we don’t have enough heavy machinery to clear debris quickly.”
International offers of assistance have poured in, including from Colombia and Cuba, but Venezuela’s government has not yet formally requested foreign aid, citing “sovereignty concerns” in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The U.S. State Department, however, urged Venezuela to “accept all necessary humanitarian support” in a tweet, marking a rare moment of alignment between Washington and Caracas on a domestic crisis.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s already overwhelmed hospitals are preparing for a surge in patients. "Many injured will need amputations or long-term care, and we don’t have the resources."
What happens next for Venezuela’s economy?
The earthquakes come at a precarious moment for Venezuela’s economy, which relies heavily on oil exports and imports through La Guaira. The port handles a substantial portion of the country’s container traffic, including critical shipments of medicine and food. “If the port remains closed for more than a few days, we’re looking at a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Luis Parra, an economist at the Caracas-based think tank Ecoanalítica.
President Nicolás Maduro held an emergency meeting with cabinet members Monday afternoon but did not address the public. His last public statement, made Sunday evening, acknowledged the quakes but downplayed their severity. “We are prepared to face this challenge with the strength of our people,” he said, without detailing specific measures.
For now, the focus remains on saving lives. But with aftershocks continuing and the port’s future uncertain, the economic and humanitarian fallout from Monday’s disasters is far from over.
