RONALD PENA R/EPA
Residents walk through the rubble of a building that collapsed after the twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that hit the country, in Catia la Mar, Venezuela.
There may be many more situations of affected Portuguese and Portuguese descendants. “We are trying to stop shaking from the fright (…) it seemed like it would never end,” said a Portuguese man.
At least one Portuguese citizen died following the two earthquakes that hit Venezuela on Wednesday, the Portuguese Ministry of Business announced.
The victim, a male, was pulled from the rubble alive, but ended up dying on the way to the hospital. Through the Portuguese MNE, Portugal presented its “heartfelt condolences to the family” and expressed “solidarity with the authorities and the Venezuelan people”.
Earlier, the MNE had announced that five Portuguese people, four of whom were from the same family, were missing, according to the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in La Guairain Venezuela, where on Wednesday they caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Portuguese diplomacy, which is still unaware of any fatalities resulting from these earthquakes, admitted that there may be many more situations of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants affected, given the size of the Portuguese community in the country.
Venezuela is home to one of the most important Portuguese communities in the world and the second largest in Latin America. It comes mainly from the Madeira archipelago, but also from the central (Aveiro) and northern (Porto) regions of the country, according to official data. It is estimated that 1.2 million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants live in Venezuela. There are around 200 to 220 thousand Portuguese registered in consulates in Venezuela, according to Observador.
For the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the next 24 to 48 hours are a priority to rescue as many lives as possible.
O first earthquake of magnitude 7.2 occurred about 200 kilometers from Caracas, followed by a second of magnitude 7.5 and about 20 replicas, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Dozens of buildings collapsed or were seriously damaged in the La Guaira region, north of Caracas, one of the most affected.
Venezuelan authorities have declared a state of emergency.
Portuguese members of a TAP crew, with 11 Portuguese, reported a “dramatic and difficult situation” after seeing the hotel where they were staying “collapse”.
“We are trying to stop shaking from the fright. It was an intense or very strong and long-lasting earthquake, it seemed like it would never end. We are still worried about possible aftershocks”, explained a trader to Agência Lusa.
The consulates general of Portugal in the Venezuelan cities of Caracas and Valencia have provided telephone numbers for Portuguese people to inform about emergency situations, following the two earthquakes that affected Venezuela on Wednesday.
José Gonçalves, was at home, in Caracas, in La Campiña, when he felt that the sofa was shaking and shortly afterwards the entire apartment, before running out of electricity.
“It was the strongest tremor I’ve felt to date, I still feel my body shaking with fear. The vases and all the things that were on top of the furniture fell and are in pieces on the floor”, he explained.
Despite the difficulties in communications, several Portuguese people explained to Lusa by telephone that the earthquake was also felt strongly in places such as Valencia, 150 kilometers to the west and Higuerote, 120 kilometers to the east of the capital.
According to Matilde Freitas, several aftershocks were felt, and several areas of Higuerote were left without electricity and telephones, and that some people left the buildings crying in fear.
The contacts for communicating urgent situations are the number +58 414-466.53.50 and email for the Caracas region and the number +58 412-040.55.65 and email for the Valencia area.
