Venezuela has moved onto an emergency footing in the hours after a pair of powerful earthquakes battered the country. According to the report, the government has declared a state of emergency, with authorities warning of high casualties and extensive damage as the full picture of the disaster slowly comes into focus across the affected areas.
The decision to escalate the official response came from the very top of the country's leadership. According to the report, interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared the state of emergency, formally placing the country in crisis mode as rescue and relief efforts ramped up in the wake of the tremors.
In acknowledging the human cost, the interim president confirmed that lives had been lost without putting a figure on the scale of the tragedy. According to the report, Delcy Rodriguez extended her condolences to the families of those killed, but did not provide a number of fatalities or injuries, leaving the official toll unclear for now.
The disaster has also disrupted the country's links to the outside world. According to the report, international airports have been closed and cancelled in the aftermath of the earthquakes, cutting off air travel at a moment when the country is grappling with the consequences of the powerful shaking.
The seismic event itself was unusually severe, striking in quick succession. According to the report, the quakes struck off the coast of Venezuela, with the U.S. Geological Survey measuring a magnitude 7.1 tremor whose epicentre was about 104 miles from the capital, Caracas, followed shortly after by a second earthquake of magnitude 7.5 in the same area.
On the ground, the back-to-back tremors left visible destruction and an anxious wait for answers. According to the report, the earthquakes caused buildings to collapse, and emergency teams have been searching through the rubble, while the overall human toll from one of the most powerful events to hit the country in recent times remains unclear.