LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — A powerful aftershock shook Venezuela in the early morning hours Monday, adding to the fear and uncertainty already gripping the country following last week’s pair of devastating earthquakes, as both civilians and emergency crews pressed on in their search for anyone still alive beneath the wreckage.
The tremor hit at 7:01 a.m. local time, centered roughly 27 kilometers — about 17 miles — north of Caraballeda along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. The United States Geological Survey measured the aftershock at magnitude 4.6, while Colombia’s geological survey placed it slightly higher at 5.1.
Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, reported that no additional damage had been confirmed from Monday’s quake, though the shaking was strong enough to send residents of the capital city of Caracas running and screaming into the streets.
Among those who fled their homes was Concepción Hernández, a 51-year-old resident of the Chacao municipality of Caracas, who evacuated her apartment building when the ground began to move. “Here we are again, back in the street. I don’t know when we’ll have a moment of true peace,” she said.
The aftershock also rattled the already hard-hit port city of La Guaira, where local and international rescue teams have been working around the clock since the twin earthquakes struck the northern region five days ago.
The government has confirmed at least 1,450 deaths tied to the earthquakes, and thousands more people are still unaccounted for. Officials are facing mounting criticism from Venezuelans who say the government’s response has been insufficient and overshadowed by civilian-led rescue operations at collapsed buildings.
Despite the dwindling odds of finding survivors as time passed, rescue workers continued to pull people from the debris, giving desperate families reason to hold onto hope. While the critical window for survival following a disaster is typically the first 48 to 72 hours, experts note that survival is possible longer when victims have access to food and water.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said late Sunday that the search for survivors would go on even after that time threshold had passed. The government reported that more than 2,600 rescue workers had arrived from countries around the world, bringing with them trained search dogs and heavy equipment.
