USGS Quake Model Projects Huge Death Toll in Venezuela

The second of back-to-back earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday was the most powerful to hit the country in more than a century, reports the BBC, and the results are catastrophic:

• Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Thursday that at least 164 people are dead and 971 injured, but the numbers at this point mean little. Modeling from the US Geological Survey says the death toll would likely run into the thousands and stands a good chance of exceeding 10,000, reports Reuters.
• The first 7.2 magnitude quake was followed less than a minute later by one of 7.5 magnitude. Both relatively shallow quakes hit about 100 miles west of the capital, Caracas, near the Caribbean coast.

• La Guaira state, north of Caracas, has been labeled a "disaster zone," with collapsed buildings and intensive rescue efforts underway. Video also showed collapsed residential towers in Caracas and the port city of La Guaira, "suggesting extensive damage even to relatively well-built buildings," per the New York Times. That raises fears about the many who live in shantytowns.
• Power and cellphone service were knocked out in parts of the capital; the main international airport was damaged and shut, subway service was halted, gas supplies were cut, and schools closed, some repurposed as shelters, per the AP.
• "How do you go back to living like this? This is like something out of a movie—I've never seen anything like it in my life. ... When I got here [to Los Palos Grandes] I was in shock," one woman tells the BBC.
• Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and announced a $200 million reconstruction fund, as the US, Ecuador, Qatar, Mexico, El Salvador, and others rushed to send search-and-rescue teams and aid.
• "We will be there for our new and great friends," wrote President Trump on social media. The quakes come months after a US military intervention ousted dictator Nicolas Maduro.