Verified videos posted on social media show the extent of damage and horror of residents after twin earthquakes pummelled Venezuela.
A magnitude-7.2 quake struck an area west of the capital Caracas on Wednesday afternoon, followed by a magnitude-7.5 tremor less than a minute later.
ABC NEWS Verify has authenticated videos posted online showing the devastation the disaster has caused.
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This video has been geolocated to inside Venezuela’s main international airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport. It is located near Caracas.
It appears to show the moment one of the quakes hits. The power momentarily cuts out as people scream.
Others fall over as dust spews out of what appear to be concrete pillars on the roof, filling the terminal.
The video frantically pans around, at one moment showing two people on the ground. One appears to be trying to protect the other.
Nearby, a dazed man looks around, still pushing his luggage.
We know the video is real because visual elements in it — like the roof, lights, signs and businesses — match imagery found on platforms such as Google Maps.
The video also only appeared online after the earthquakes had struck.
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This video shows the inside of a man’s apartment as one of the earthquakes hits.
Objects can be heard smashing and the room is shaking.
“… this s*** is falling,” the man said from behind the camera.
We know this video is real because we have established exactly when it was filmed.
The TV is showing the World Cup match between Scotland and Brazil being played in Miami, Florida.
The match clock is visible and shows it is about 4 minutes into play. The match started at 6pm local time in Venezuela.
The first earthquake struck a 6:04pm local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The Hotel Eduard in La Guaira, Venezuela, is seen destroyed. (Supplied)
A third video shows a vehicle driving past a hotel not far from the international airport.
The hotel’s main building, which appeared in old imagery to be at least seven storeys tall, has collapsed.
The front façade of the building is very damaged, with the hotel’s sign unreadable.
Elements in the video, including trees and fences, can be matched to old imagery on platforms such as Google’s Street View.
There are many videos and images appearing online of multiple buildings reduced to rubble.
Venezuela’s information control
Getting timely and accurate information out of Venezuela has been notoriously difficult in the past as the nation has one of the world’s most restrictive media environments, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The organisation states that under former president Nicolas Maduro, the government exercised tight control over the flow of information coming out of the country, driving a steep decline in press freedom.
The Miami Herald recently reported that under interim-president Delcy Rodriguez, there have been some signs of that loosening, though one journalist said by “only a millimetre”.
CNN has reported not all citizens can access platforms such as X.
The limits of any loosening will now be tested, as residents try to share critical and timely information about the earthquake disaster online.
