Death toll rises to 164 with 971 injured as Colombian authorities prepare search-and-rescue assistance.

On Thursday, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country had activated all of its “capabilities” to support Venezuela following the two powerful earthquakes on Wednesday that have so far left 164 people dead and 971 injured.

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“Our solidarity is with the Venezuelan people following the earthquake that today brings mourning and affects so many families. We have already activated all the capabilities of the Defense Sector, coordinated with the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), to provide any support Venezuela may require during these difficult moments,” Sanchez said.

“Our Military Forces, the National Police and Civil Defense are already coordinating the necessary preparatory actions at the disposal of the UNGRD. In natural disasters, there are no borders; there are sister nations that help one another,” he added.

UNGRD Director Javier Pava expressed his solidarity over what happened and said the agency had activated the search-and-rescue teams of the National Disaster Risk System. “We’ll coordinate deployments to the neighboring country with the Foreign Ministry and the Venezuelan Embassy,” he said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center confirmed that Venezuela’s Caribbean region was shaken by two strong earthquakes just 39 seconds apart, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5.

The two tremors constituted a “seismic doublet,” a phenomenon in which two major earthquakes occur within seconds of each other in the same area.

“The figure we have already recorded is 164 dead and 971 injured, with 30 aftershocks that have occurred since the two consecutive main events we experienced at six in the evening,” Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez stated.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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