Show Caption
The death toll from a pair of devasting earthquakes in Venezuela has surpassed 5,000 more than three weeks later, authorities said as search efforts continue.The two earthquakes hit less than a minute apart June 24 just after 6 p.m. local time. The quakes had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, about 14 miles southeast of Yumare, Venezuela, some 173 miles west of the capital of Caracas. The quakes sent buildings tumbling, damaged infrastructure and left nearly 18,000 displaced from their homes.Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said in an update July 17 that fatalities stood at 5,069 with another 16,740 injuries.The quake hit La Guaira state the hardest. Photos from July 18 show rescuers and community members continuing to search for and recover more bodies of loved ones, 24 days after the earthquakes hit.More than 6,400 people have been rescued from the rubble, Rodriguez said in the latest update.Among the devastation, 190 buildings collapsed and a total of 856 buildings were affected by the quakes, he said.While Venezuela sits in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate, quakes of such strong magnitude are still relatively rare for that region of the country. The second quake, known as the mainshock, was the most powerful earthquake in the region's history since 1900, when a 7.7 magnitude hit near Caracas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Contributing: Reuters
