How Venezuelans reacted when a powerful earthquake triggered widespread panic

A serious incident took place when two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, collapsing buildings, causing widespread disruption, and resulting in a significant loss of life.

On Wednesday evening, when the ground beneath Venezuela started convulsing, Veronica feared the walls of her Caracas apartment would bury her. She was busy celebrating the national day with her mother when two large earthquakes hit the city around 18:00 local time.

According to reports, more than 160 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more are injured and authorities have warned that they have not yet realized the full impact of the losses during this crucial time.

Residents are seeking help to cope up with this situation. Veronica confirmed that she and her mother were safe but said she has likely lost her home.

“I never thought we would experience something like this," she said, audibly shaken. Coro Martinez, a resident in eastern Caracas, told Reuters news agency the same.

“I've never experienced anything like it,” he further said.

BBC Mundo journalist Nicole Kolster said that the windows of her seventh story apartment began to shake, leaving her in an intense situation with nowhere that felt secure.

“The only thing I could think to do was to get between the front door and a stone wall... to try to protect myself.”

“I thought the building was going to fall on top of me.”

It has been observed that information flow has been largely disrupted in places like La Guaira, north of Caracas due to infrastructure damage.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said that numerous buildings had collapsed in the city, calling it an immense damage. In addition, the entire situation is so staggering that authorities have not yet been able to estimate the final death toll.