Strong aftershock terrifies Venezuelans days after devastating twin quakes | Venezuela

Five days after a double earthquake killed at least 1,450 people, left tens of thousands missing and triggered a growing humanitarian emergency, a powerful aftershock shook northern Venezuela and sent terrified residents onto the streets.

An aftershock early Monday, measured at magnitude 4.6 by the United States Geological Survey, rattled the capital Caracas and the devastated port city of La Guaira, where rescue teams are still hoping to pull as many people as possible from the rubble. Colombia’s geological survey put the magnitude of the aftershock at 5.1.

Trembling earth and the sound of earthquake sirens sparked fresh panic in Caracas and La Guaira, although Venezuelan National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez said there were no reports yet of new damage.

“I was sleeping when the shaking woke me up. Although I didn’t feel the other aftershocks, I felt almost as strong as Wednesday’s earthquake,” said Amarelis Mendoza, a resident of El Hatillo in Caracas.

In the capital’s hardest-hit areas, including Altamira and San Bernardino, residents flocked to the streets from their makeshift shelters. Many sleep outside apartments or in tents pitched on sidewalks for fear of further collapse.

Several lines of the Caracas metro were closed again amid concerns that aftershocks could further damage already weakened infrastructure.

Search efforts in the 22-unit Rita apartment building in San Bernardino, which completely collapsed in last week’s earthquake, were suspended for about an hour and a half after Monday’s earthquake.

With the start of the new week, some businesses in the capital started to reopen. However, as the humanitarian crisis deepens, the number of people taking shelter in parks and squares continues to increase.

Hundreds of displaced families from Caracas and beyond are camping in Parque del Este, a 200-acre park east of the capital.

“Life is more valuable than anything else,” said 35-year-old Katiuska Asuaje, who fled her home in the La Cruz district of Bello Campo in Caracas with her four children.

“We weren’t going to wait for the house to collapse on us because one of the concrete roof slabs had already come loose.”

Maryuri Pérez, 36, and Jaime Blanco, 40, had nowhere to turn back after their shack in western Caracas collapsed.

“What we need most is a tent or at least a bed to sleep in,” Pérez said. “Thank God the neighbors bring us food, but we have no place to sleep.”

The aftershock came as local residents, as well as Venezuelan and international search teams, continued to comb through rubble for survivors of last Wednesday’s back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5.

The rescue of a man and his teenage son alive from rubble in La Guaira province on Sunday provided a brief moment of optimism.

“Today we rescued people who are still alive, and therefore these efforts will not be suspended,” said Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president.

But the chances of similar rescues are dwindling. A Salvadoran rescue worker who declined to give his name told Agence France-Presse: “At this point it’s probably bodies. Thank God, maybe we can find people who are still alive.”

According to the government, which was criticized for its slow response and unpreparedness to the disaster, 3,150 people were injured and nearly 800 buildings were severely damaged in the earthquakes.

Tens of thousands of people remain missing and millions are left without sanitation and other basic needs after the critical 72-hour window needed to rescue trapped victims in the wake of a natural disaster closes.

Even as rescue efforts continued, there were outbreaks of looting in La Guaira, near the country’s main international airport. Following last week’s disaster, large parts of the city are now under rubble. Residents of the area said that pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses were searched, and some complained that the help from the authorities after the earthquake was slow and insufficient.

Authorities banned international journalists from entering subsidence zones in La Guaira for 48 hours, saying the restriction was imposed for security reasons.

Anger is growing in some areas where people claim authorities did not do enough to save earthquake victims.

“The country needs you. Drop your weapons,” a man in the Tanaguarena district of La Guaira province shouted at the soldiers, urging them to replace their weapons with pickaxes and shovels.

It has been stated that 521 tons of materials, 86 units with dogs trained to find people trapped under the rubble, and more than 2,700 search and rescue personnel have been sent from 24 countries so far.

The UN Migration Agency said as many as 6.76 million people could be affected by disasters and may need shelter, water, sanitation, health services and basic relief supplies.

The worst earthquakes in Venezuela in more than a century come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse. The crisis forced the evacuation of hospitals and public services and prompted millions of people to flee the country.

The UN put the bill for physical repairs at $6.7bn (£5bn); this amounts to six percent of Venezuela’s GDP. On Monday, the United States announced it would double its aid package from $150 million to $300 million.

“These funds will provide emergency medical care, food aid, water and sanitation, shelter, protection and logistics,” the State Department said.

Exiled Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado has announced that she will return to her homeland “very soon.”

“It’s time,” he told US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday. “We need to be together, embrace each other, grieve together, mourn together, but also give each other strength in this difficult time.”

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting