Venezuela quake death toll could reach 100,000, warns USGS

Darwin, 25 June : The death toll from the twin powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday could rise to as many as 100,000, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has warned.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the USGS said its assessment suggests that the devastating back-to-back quakes, both measuring above magnitude 7, could cause massive casualties and widespread destruction.

Asked how the estimate was made, USGS member and University of California geologist Vashan Wrights said the projection was based on an advanced system known as Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER).

Speaking to reporters, Wrights said the PAGER system analyses all available data related to an earthquake — including its magnitude, depth, location, population density, past seismic records and local building construction patterns — to forecast the possible scale of casualties and damage.

“By using PAGER, we can generate an estimate of what may happen based on all known information related to the earthquake,” he said. “In many cases, PAGER forecasts come quite close to the actual death toll.”

The USGS statement also warned that the disaster was likely to be extensive, saying there was a strong possibility of “significant casualties and damage” across affected areas.

According to the agency, the two earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude — struck Venezuela at around 6:04 pm local time on Wednesday, with only 40 seconds separating the tremors.

President Delcy Rodriguez has already declared a nationwide state of emergency in the aftermath of the disaster.

Multiple geolocated videos published by CNN showed widespread destruction across Venezuela, including in the capital Caracas and the coastal city of Catia La Mar. In one area, several buildings on a hillside appeared to collapse, while footage from other locations showed panicked residents rushing out of buildings and gathering in the streets with family members and pets.

Rescue operations are now under way across the country, led by both government agencies and private volunteers. So far, at least 32 bodies have been recovered and more than 700 injured people rescued from different towns and cities, including Caracas.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said authorities were doing everything possible to respond to the crisis.

“Many of our buildings and homes have collapsed, and we are using all available security and civil assistance resources to manage the situation,” Cabello said in remarks broadcast on state television.

The full scale of the disaster remains unclear, but with rescue efforts continuing and casualty estimates mounting, Venezuela now faces one of the deadliest natural disasters in its recent history.