A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Venezuela was hit by two powerful earthquakes on Wednesday. They are among the largest in its history. The capital, Caracas, is one of the worst-affected areas.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Shouting in non-English language).
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MARTÍNEZ: In sound from this verified video, you can hear a resident screaming in terror as their apartment sways violently from side to side.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The tremors, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, struck just 39 seconds apart, bringing down buildings and severely damaging the international airport, which has now been closed. More than 20 aftershocks have followed. The government has declared a state of emergency amid fears of significant casualties.
MARTÍNEZ: Reporter John Otis joins us from neighboring Colombia. John, do we have any updates at all on the extent of the damage on casualties?
JOHN OTIS: There's still a lot of confusion over just how much devastation was caused by these back-to-back earthquakes. Their epicenter was west of Caracas, but that's a very densely populated area, with some big industrial cities like Valencia and Barquisimeto. Now, from photos and videos, the damage looks quite extensive. You can see huge clouds of dust rising into the sky over collapsed buildings and rescue workers pulling survivors out of the rubble on stretchers. People were ducking for cover under tables at restaurants. They were dashing out of their homes into the streets.
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, said that at least 164 people were killed and 971 were injured. And she said dozens of buildings collapsed in La Guaira, a town near the capital, which she described as a disaster area. Yesterday was a public holiday in Venezuela, so rather than at work, many people were at their homes when the quake struck. Now, models put together by the U.S. Geological Survey project that earthquakes this strong - in such cases, there could be thousands of casualties. But that said, we don't have total numbers at this point. But people are already posting on social media and looking for missing loved ones.
MARTÍNEZ: So what's been the response of the Venezuelan government?
OTIS: President Rodriguez spoke to the nation last night. She declared a state of emergency. She canceled public schools, and she called on doctors and nurses to immediately report to work. Let's listen.
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PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: And she's saying, "my main message to our people is to show solidarity." And she goes on to say that her entire government has been mobilized and that the No. 1 task right now is saving lives.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. What's been the response from the international community?
OTIS: President Rodriguez says she's received calls from the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and many other countries offering to help. President Trump has said on social media that he's ordered U.S. agencies to prepare to move quickly. The U.S. State Department says it's mobilized a disaster assistance team and task force to Venezuela. It will also be sending search and rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies.
It helps that the Rodriguez government's been working closely with Washington ever since the country's authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, was ousted by U.S. special forces back in January. And the U.S. Embassy has also reopened, so that should help. But remember, under the Maduro regime, Venezuela's economy collapsed due to corruption, mismanagement and U.S. sanctions. Today, there's triple-digit inflation. The health system's in shambles, and firefighters and rescue workers lack equipment. So it's going to be tough for Venezuela to try to recover from this natural disaster.
MARTÍNEZ: That's John Otis, who is reporting from neighboring Colombia. John, thank you.
OTIS: Thanks very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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