Venezuela's Oil Infrastructure Expected Unscathed by 7.2M Earthquake

A number of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure facilities are expected to be unaffected by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that shook the country, Reuters news agency reported. Earlier on Thursday, Venezuelan Vice President and acting President Delcy Rodriguez said a series of strong earthquakes had caused damage to several buildings in Caracas, including residential homes, as well as in the states of Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcon. The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency and is conducting search and rescue operations. A Caracas resident told RIA Novosti that internet and mobile communication services were disrupted after the quake. “Mobile signal and internet are intermittent, messages are difficult to send … The cable internet connection at my home is also not working,” the resident said. According to the resident, houses built with solid construction in Caracas were able to withstand the earthquake shocks. However, many semi-permanent houses and buildings with structural defects were reported to have collapsed.