Terrifying Video Shows Back-to-Back Earthquakes Hitting Venezuela

Terrifying video out of Venezuela showed desperate residents trying to escape the devastation from major back-to-back earthquakes hitting the country, killing at least 164 people so far.

At least one earthquake was registered at a 7.5 magnitude in what The New York Times called “the largest to hit Venezuela in more than a century.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer introduced the video with a warning that “what we’re about to show you is disturbing.”

People can be heard screaming as they tried to escape the crumbling buildings. One man who recorded video could be heard calling out for his loved ones. Additional video showed the airport outside the capital of Caracas, with parts of the building collapsing as travelers ran for cover.

“The death toll has climbed to at least 164 people, and nearly 1000 people are hurt, according to the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez,” Blitzer reported.

“We were able to speak with survivors who told us the feeling of standing in their flat, maybe of the fourth or fifth or sixth floor of their building, and feeling like literally the Earth opening up the ground, opening up beneath their feet and the floor turning into water,” reported CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon. “One person described it to me as feeling as she was drowning into the collapsing building. Luckily, she survived, as many others have survived, but correctly, yes, at least 164 Venezuelans have been found dead and that number is probably going to grow and rise in the coming hours.”

President Donald Trump commented on the matter on Truth Social:

The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths. The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!! President DJT

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was assisting in search and rescue efforts.

“We’re already deploying a search and rescue teams from Fairfax county, Virginia, and Los Angeles. There will be some others we’ll add,” Rubio said. “That’s their most immediate need right now is search and rescue efforts,” Rubio continued:

They have a bunch of collapsed buildings, and so they’ll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that. The airport there is badly damaged, so we’ll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there. And then we’re also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don’t have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been. Those are the acute like short term needs over the next 48 to 72 hours, because in search and rescue, you’re trying to get to people while you can still save their lives. They’re buried under rubble.

Watch the video about via CNN.

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