Venezuela quake survivors describe devastation: "Everything collapsed"

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Survivors of the catastrophic earthquakes successful Venezuela — including a writer who was successful a Caracas elevator erstwhile the archetypal temblor struck — recounted scenes of devastation arsenic "everything collapsed."

The antheral successful the elevator, writer Tony Frangie, told "CBS Mornings" that the quake was "quite terrifying." He had been connected his mode to ticker a World Cup lucifer with friends connected Wednesday and was conscionable leaving his gathering erstwhile the shaking started.

"I started to commune and to property each button, waiting for it to unfastened up," Frangie said. The elevator fto him retired successful the building's basement. When helium went outside, helium saw that the operation was shaking. The gathering stayed standing, helium said, and helium spent the adjacent respective hours waiting arsenic neighbors and household came downstairs.

At first, helium didn't recognize however large it was. But erstwhile helium went online, helium learned that 2 earthquakes, 1 with a magnitude of 7.2 and the different 7.5, had struck westbound of Caracas. The quakes are the strongest to deed Venezuela successful implicit a century, and were truthful almighty that the shaking could beryllium felt successful parts of Colombia and Brazil. They besides sparked tsunami alerts.

La Guaira, a authorities connected the country's bluish coast, was the hardest hit, Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said. At slightest 164 radical were killed and much than 900 injured, Rodríguez said, with the toll apt to emergence arsenic rescuers hunt collapsed buildings. Rodríguez has declared a authorities of emergency.

La Guaira nonmigratory Antonio Bermudez told the AFP quality bureau that the shaking began "all of a sudden." He was successful his surviving room, helium said, but escaped his gathering earlier it collapsed.

"I started to move, I looked for structure nether a column. I was betwixt my country and the shower. It shook harder and harder," Bermudez sid. "I held onto the partition and the gathering started to travel down."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is deploying hunt teams, aesculapian resources and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela. A authorities section authoritative told CBS News that Rubio called Rodríguez and offered the afloat assistance of the United States. El Salvador has besides offered its assistance.

"We expect it to get worse"

The 2 quakes took spot wrong a minute, Northwestern University prof emeritus Emile Okal told CBS News. That meant that galore radical did not person capable clip to evacuate the buildings they were successful betwixt the archetypal and 2nd rounds of shaking, Okal explained.

CBS News meteorologist Rob Marciano said the quakes were shallow, lone astir six miles deep, creating "more convulsive shaking astatine the surface."

In the vicinity of Catia La Mar, which holds astir 200 lodging towers, "everything, everything collapsed," nonmigratory Yilsmaris Blanco told AFP.

"We convey God due to the fact that ... we're alive, but determination are radical close present suffering with their relatives buried, with their relatives crushed and they can't get them out," Blanco, 39, said.

Larry Rojas, 49, said his household was trapped successful a collapsed building.

"We person nothing, close present we person nothing, not adjacent the spot oregon the courageousness to spell successful there," Rojas told AFP. "Just imagine."

Photos amusement buildings with ample cracks and fallen walls. Other structures were completely reduced to rubble. Much of the country has nary electricity. People bash not person entree to water, Rojas said, leaving them "dying of thirst."

"Really, we request idiosyncratic to assistance us, to nonstop machinery. That's what we request to get into the buildings that person collapsed," Rojas told AFP. He said that country residents are acrophobic to participate immoderate buildings, adjacent the ones near standing, due to the fact that "we're acrophobic it volition illness too."

Jose Pacheco, the operations main of the United Rescue Group of Venezuela, told AFP that helium had ne'er seen thing similar the aftermath of these earthquakes successful his 30 years of experience. He said La Guaira needs "help, supra each method help," calling connected specialized teams from Caracas to question to the region.

Frangie told "CBS Mornings" that helium has seen "hundreds of posts and stories and tons of messages of people" looking for assistance and searching for loved ones. He was expected to beryllium graduating from his MBA programme connected Friday, but that is "definitely suspended," helium said. Instead, helium is waiting to spot however helium assistance survivors.

He besides said helium fears the decease toll volition rise.

"We've seen videos of buildings collapsing and never-ending magnitude of radical looking for families," Frangie said. "So, yeah, we expect it to get worse."

AFP contributed to this report.

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