As rescue efforts unfolded, President Rodríguez visited the coastal town of Macuto in La Guaira state, one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquakes.
The state, which borders Caracas and is home to the capital’s main international airport, saw about 70,000 families affected, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said.
“We are supporting the families, and they have our solidarity. We hope to recover alive as many people as possible,” Rodríguez said.
In La Guaira, José Rolón was celebrating his birthday at a pool in his brother’s apartment building when disaster struck.
“I felt the floor start to shake violently. The water in the pool began to churn wildly, like a heavy swell,” Rolón told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish. As everyone inside the pool began to get out, they saw the building next to them collapse.
“It was a moment of shock,” Rolón said, adding that he spent the night sleeping inside his car with his 4-year-old and 2-year-old children.
A website created to help locate missing people listed more than 60,000 individuals as unaccounted for as families searched for loved ones.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s predictive modeling suggested the number of fatalities could climb to more than 10,000 as rescue crews continue searching through collapsed buildings and piles of rubble for survivors.
Governments and humanitarian organizations around the world mobilized assistance, with emergency supplies and rescue teams arriving from countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia.
The U.S. State Department said it was mobilizing $150 million in aid for Venezuela. The aid was going through assistance partners like charity groups and a $100 million contribution to a U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs fund.
The Trump administration also eased sanctions to authorize transactions related to earthquake relief that would otherwise be prohibited.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would deploy search-and-rescue teams, while the Pentagon would provide logistical support and help restore operations at Caracas’ damaged airport.
United Nations’ Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher wrote on social media that search-and-rescue teams were being deployed from around the world.
“Every hour counts,” Fletcher said.
