Millions of people were warned about the incoming tremors only seconds before a powerful earthquake struck the South American nation. As per reports, Google is said to have detected the earliest signs of the earthquake and alerted people in affected region before the tremors arrived. The Google’s Android Earthquake alert system is said to have done its job identifying the seismic activity and paging a warning to the nearby users before the more destructive shaking reached them.
As per the government officials, the death toll has jumped to 164 with 971 missing and several injured. The casualty figures released early Thursday excluded the state of La Guaira, which Rodriguez described as a “disaster zone” and the area hardest hit. Multiple videos circulating online suggested that a hotel in La Guaira, a coastal state that has now been declared a disaster zone, completely collapsed in the wake of Wednesday’s quakes.
“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there, about 30 kilometres north of Caracas, and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” she said. This quake is being considered among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.
Rescue teams from across the globe extended humanitarian support to Venezuela despite many amongst them not being on good terms. Rescue teams from China, El Salvador, Germany, Ecuador, Qatar, Mexico arrived in the twin quake hit nation. he International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also activated emergency response mechanisms. ”The Venezuelan Red Cross is operational and responding. Its nationwide network of hospitals and polyclinics remains active and continues to deliver care,” the organisation said in a statement.
Meanwhile, EU also activated the Copernicus satellite monitoring system to support recovery efforts in Venezuela following the disaster. “We have activated Copernicus and stand ready to increase assistance,” EU aid commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in a social media post, adding that EU partners are already providing support on the ground.