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Venezuela's president says that nearly 200 people have been killed in back-to-back earthquakes on Wednesday. A state of emergency has been declared as officials warn the death toll is likely to rise. Manuel Rueda has more from Bogota in neighboring Colombia.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).
MANUEL RUEDA, BYLINE: After the earthquake struck, firefighters and volunteers work to clear debris from the Petunia, a 13-story apartment building in Caracas that collapsed. More than a dozen people were rescued from the building, according to local officials, but many are still thought to be trapped there. Sebastian Arias showed up with a shovel and a sledgehammer to see if he could help. Rescue workers are so short of equipment, they've been asking volunteers to show up with their own tools.
SEBASTIAN ARIAS: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "A place like this, you just feel shocked," he said. "I don't even feel like taking photos."
By the time Arias got to the Petunia building, there were too many volunteers on site. So he set out to other neighborhoods where there were also reports of collapsed buildings.
ARIAS: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "Maybe they need more tools there," he said.
Earthquakes are relatively rare in Venezuela, and residents of Caracas seldom feel even minor tremors. So yesterday's quakes took many people by surprise. The quakes hit hardest in Caracas and five northern states along Venezuela's Caribbean coast. Claudia Castillo says she was working at home on her computer when the first earthquake struck.
CLAUDIA CASTILLO: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "Everything was moving," she says. "My flower vases were crashing on the floor, and even paintings were falling off the walls. I had never experienced something like this."
Ana Soffer lives in Los Palos Grandes, a neighborhood in Caracas where at least three buildings have collapsed. She was driving past the shopping mall when the first earthquake struck.
ANA SOFFER: And I saw people running out of shopping mall. I saw a big smoke of sand. I decided to breathe - to do breathe exercises because all my body was shaking.
RUEDA: In La Yaguara, a city along Venezuela's Caribbean coast, dozens of buildings have collapsed, according to officials. Videos shared by local journalists show people trapped inside concrete structures, screaming out their names as they wait for help.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Shouting) Ramon (ph). (Speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Speaking Spanish) Ari (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Ari.
RUEDA: As rescue crews searched for survivors, neighboring countries began mobilizing aid. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says rescue teams from Virginia and California are also on their way.
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MARCO RUBIO: We're also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been or what the impact has been.
RUEDA: The response to these earthquakes is expected to test relations between Venezuela and the Trump administration, which seized former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January in a predawn raid. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has thanked the Trump administration for its quick response. In a nationally televised address, she declared a state of emergency.
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PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "We need all doctors and nurses to report to their places of work," she said.
Venezuela's main airport has been closed after its ceiling was damaged, and schools will be shut down for the remainder of the week. Rodriguez urged residents to evacuate buildings that remain standing and are no longer safe because of structural damages to their foundations.
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RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "Please stay calm," she said. "We need to stay united."
The last time Caracas experienced such an intense earthquake was in 1967, when more than 200 people were killed in a 6.7 magnitude quake. Thousands are now sleeping outdoors, fearful of more aftershocks. For them, the recovery has only just begun.
For NPR News, I'm Manuel Rueda in Bogota. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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