United News of Bangladesh

Rescue teams and volunteers continued searching through the rubble of collapsed buildings in Venezuela on Monday as hopes of finding more survivors from last week's devastating twin earthquakes diminished and concerns mounted over a prolonged humanitarian crisis. Five days after the disaster, relief agencies warned that the critical window for rescuing survivors was rapidly closing, although people trapped beneath the debris could still survive if they had access to food and water. The earthquakes have left thousands homeless, raising questions over whether the cash-strapped government can effectively coordinate long-term relief and recovery efforts. The official death toll has surpassed 1,700, according to government figures. Meanwhile, a magnitude 4.6 aftershock struck the northern state of La Guaira on Monday, adding to the anxiety of residents and rescue workers. Authorities said there were no immediate reports of additional damage. Government officials, facing criticism over the pace of the response, highlighted ongoing rescue and relief efforts. Police and military personnel distributed food to displaced residents, while authorities said electricity had been restored to 90 percent of La Guaira, one of the worst-hit regions. Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly, said engineers were assessing structurally damaged buildings and that 15 temporary camps had been established to shelter displaced families. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez also praised emergency responders after rescue workers pulled a survivor from the rubble following a 43-hour operation, describing every successful rescue as "a victory for hope." Despite occasional rescue successes, many families remained waiting near collapsed buildings for news of missing relatives. Residents were again shaken after Monday's aftershock, one of more than 600 recorded since the twin earthquakes struck last Wednesday. The tremor was felt in Caracas, where many people rushed out of buildings in fear. Rescue and recovery operations are continuing as authorities and humanitarian agencies race against time to assist survivors and address the growing needs of those displaced by one of the country's deadliest natural disasters.

The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela has climbed to 1,450, with more than 3,000 people injured, senior lawmaker Jorge Rodríguez said on Sunday. The latest figure marks an increase of 20 deaths from the previously reported toll of 1,430. Rodríguez said 3,150 people have been injured and a total of 12,721 people have been affected by the disaster. He described the twin earthquakes as "the most brutal natural catastrophe that our country has suffered in its history" and said the country was passing through "critical hours" in efforts to save lives. According to the official, the number of buildings damaged or destroyed has also risen to 774. Meanwhile, the United Nations said there is still hope of finding survivors trapped beneath the rubble, although the window for rescue is rapidly closing. Speaking from La Guaira, UN Resident Coordinator Gianluca Rampolla said experts believe some people could still be alive because of the way certain buildings collapsed. However, he warned that "time is running short" and noted that extremely high temperatures were complicating rescue efforts. Emergency workers continue search-and-rescue operations across the affected areas as authorities race against time to locate survivors and provide assistance to thousands of displaced and injured residents. Source: BBC

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck parts of Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan on Saturday, triggering panic among residents who rushed out of their homes, officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or property damage. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the quake's epicentre was located in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region. Tremors were felt in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, the eastern province of Punjab, the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan, and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said district administrations had been put on alert following the earthquake. Anwar Shahzad, spokesperson for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said preliminary assessments had not found any reports of deaths, injuries or damage. Pakistan is situated on an active seismic belt and experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2005, a devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake killed tens of thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan territory divided between Pakistan and India and claimed by both countries.

Rescue teams and residents continued searching through collapsed buildings in northern Venezuela on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes killed at least 188 people, injured around 1,500 and left more than 200 trapped beneath the rubble. The twin quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck Wednesday evening and were among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. Thousands of people were also reported missing across the country. Authorities said the coastal state of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, suffered some of the worst destruction, with dozens of buildings collapsing and heavy casualties reported. Panic gripped cities across northern Venezuela as residents rushed into the streets and searched through debris for missing relatives and neighbors. Television footage showed rescue workers using power tools to cut through piles of rubble in search of survivors. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez described La Guaira as a "disaster zone" and said rescue teams from other parts of the country were being deployed to the area. She also appealed to businesses to provide heavy construction equipment to aid rescue efforts and said United Nations-certified search-and-rescue teams were on their way. State television showed several survivors, including three children, being pulled alive from the debris in La Guaira. The earthquakes also damaged and forced the closure of Venezuela's main airport, while buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil's Amazon region, around 1,700 kilometres from Caracas. The latest disaster poses a major challenge for the government of Acting President Rodríguez as Venezuela continues to struggle with a prolonged economic crisis and political uncertainty. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the first 7.2-magnitude quake struck near the Caribbean coastal city of Moron at a depth of about 22 kilometres. A second, stronger 7.5-magnitude quake followed just a minute later at a depth of around 10 kilometres. Officials have urged residents to remain outdoors, warning that aftershocks could trigger further building collapses and additional casualties.

A mild earthquake was felt in parts of Bangladesh on Thursday night, causing brief tremors in several districts. The tremor, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, struck at 9:40 pm, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). The EMSC said the epicentre was near Silchar in India, close to Karimganj on the Bangladesh border adjacent to Sylhet. The earthquake originated at a depth of 10 kilometres below the surface. Tremors were reported from parts of Sylhet, Mymensingh and Dhaka. No immediate reports of casualties or damage were received.

An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines Monday, killing at least 19 people, injuring more than 200 others mostly in damaged buildings and sending a 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami into nearby coasts. A few buildings collapsed and key infrastructure sustained quake damage in the city of General Santos, and tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan. “It’s a major earthquake," Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, warning people to seek advise before returning to damaged buildings and houses which could collapse due to aftershocks. “Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” said Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from the hard-hit port city of General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m. “The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets," Sosmeña said. Another regional disaster-response official, Ednar Dayanghirang, told The AP that he was able to “hardly stand and keep my balance when the ground shook as I was leaving my house” in the southern port city of Davao. General Santos is a port city of more than 700,000 people that is a regional hub for the tuna export industry and other commerce. It was the strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year, and was was centered at sea off Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippines. According to Bacolcol, the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.” The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by mid-afternoon. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur due to the quake and taller waves, officials said. Assessing damage and casualties At least 19 people were killed, mostly in collapsed buildings and landslides, while thousands of villagers were displaced, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo said without providing specific details. Among the dead were seven people in General Santos, where a few small buildings, including a popular hamburger joint, collapsed or were severely damaged, Sosmeña said. The other deaths were caused by falling debris, a damaged mosque and a landslide in the southern provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Davao Occidental and on Balut Island, Sosmeña and another reginal disaster-response official, Ednar Dayanghirang, said. Sosmeña said authorities were checking reports of some students being trapped in a two-story school that collapsed in General Santos. He could not immediately provide details but the national police said at least 12 people were missing in General Santos. The Bureau of Fire said without elaborating that it was involved in search and rescue efforts in a damaged building and a warehouse in General Santos. Public schools had reopened nationwide Monday after the summer vacation from April to May. Dayanghirang said more than 100 students attending morning flag-raising ceremonies in his southern region sustained bruises and some fainted in panic. The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut, and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said. The DZRH radio network in Manila reported that a small commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn’t clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building. Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below. Tsunami waves near 3 feet measuredWaves of 1 meter (3 feet) were generally monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. A 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave was monitored at one time in the coastal area of Kiamba town in Sarangani, Bacolcol said. The quake was also felt in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island, and the PTWC said 30-centimer (1-foot) waves were measured in Palau. Waves up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) were detected on the remote Japanese island of Chichijima and the central Japanese town of Kushimoto, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the depth of the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles). Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. Aftershocks as strong as 6.5 magnitude were recorded. The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake centered at sea shook part of the southern Philippines early Monday, causing damage in a key coastal city, knocking down power and setting off 1-meter (3-foot) tsunami waves along nearby coasts, officials said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked people to immediately go to higher ground in Philippine areas vulnerable to a tsunami, and Indonesian and Malaysian authorities also issued warnings to their nearby coastal areas. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and it was not clear if people were trapped or injured in the collapse of at least one small building in General Santos, a tuna-processing city of more than 700,000 people that is also a commercial hub in the south. The strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year was was centered at sea about 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of General Santos and was caused by movement in the Cotabato Trench at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It struck at 7:37 a.m., the institute's director, Teresito Bacolcol said. “It's a major earthquake and we're expecting damages and we've already some damaged buildings based on videos we've seen,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press. DZRH radio station in Manila reported that the small commercial building where its provincial branch was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn’t clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building due to the quake, which struck before office hours. Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible on some coasts of the Philippines. Waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) were possible on some coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Bacolcol said 1-meter (3-foot) waves were monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani by land-based tsunami watch stations. Smaller waves were monitored in at least one other province, he said. “Please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,” Marcos told people in quake-hit provinces. “The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” Marcos said and added that disaster-response agencies were on standby to respond. Malaysia’s Meteorological Department issued a tsunami warning for Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island. Smaller sea changes were possible in Taiwan, Japan, Papua New Guinea and several island nations and territories in the western Pacific. An advisory for Guam was lifted about two hours after the quake and there was no threat to Hawaii, the PTWC said. Aftershocks up to 6.5 magnitude followed, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It measured the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles) deep. Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.  

A mild earthquake was felt in capital Dhaka and parts of Bangladesh on Sunday night. According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the tremor measured 5.6 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was located in Bhutan, 19km from Thimpu. It struck at 11.36pm. The quake caused panic among residents in Dhaka, with many people rushing out of their homes in fear. However, no damage was reported till the filing of this report.

A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Eastern Samar province in central Philippines on Monday afternoon, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The quake hit at 2:09 pm local time, with its epicentre located at a depth of about 10 kilometres. It was initially measured at 11.76 degrees north latitude and 125.37 degrees east longitude, the agency said. Local media reported that many residents rushed out of their homes and gathered in open areas as a safety measure. However, no deaths or injuries have been reported so far. The Philippines is prone to frequent earthquakes as it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area known for intense seismic and volcanic activity.

A strong earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck off northern Japan on Monday, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami alert for the region. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the quake hit off the Sanriku coast at around 4:53 pm (0753 GMT), at a depth of about 10 kilometers beneath the seabed. Public broadcaster NHK reported that tsunami waves of up to 3 meters could reach coastal areas shortly.