Two earthquakes measuring magnitudes 4.7 and 4.8 struck off the country’s northern coast less than 24 hours apart
Two more earthquakes have struck off Venezuela’s northern coast as the South American nation reels from the devastating twin tremors that hit on Wednesday.
The earthquakes, which occurred less than 24 hours apart on Saturday, measured magnitudes 4.7 and 4.8, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The first struck 54 kilometers from the city of El Limón in the northern state of Aragua, followed by another 35 kilometers from the same city. The extent of the damage caused by the new tremors remains unclear.
Venezuelan authorities have raised the death toll from Wednesday’s back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes to 1,430. The disaster has become the deadliest earthquake in the country’s recent history, with Caracas and La Guaira suffering the heaviest damage. More than 3,200 people have been injured.
Rescue operations are continuing, with more than 50,000 people reported missing. More than 1,600 foreign specialists have joined the effort, according to the government.
The deadliest previous earthquake in Venezuela’s recent history struck in 1967, killing around 300 people and injuring some 1,600 in Caracas. Another earthquake in the country’s northeast in 1997 killed at least 81 people.
