Chinese resident in Venezuela recalls thrilling moments of earthquakes

A Chinese resident in Valencia, capital of Carabobo State in Venezuela, said the twin earthquakes Wednesday shook his bed violently and all his neighbors rushed to open spaces for safety.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a magnitude 7.2 foreshock struck at 18:04 local time (2204 GMT) on Wednesday in Venezuela, followed just 40 seconds later by an even stronger magnitude 7.5 quake. Both struck near the coastal town of Moron in the state of Carabobo, about 160 km west of the national capital Caracas.

"We were just back from work, and I wanted to take a nap while scrolling through my phone in bed. As I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly felt the whole bed rocking violently. I immediately knew it was an earthquake. It was not our first time to experience a quake, as it jolted often before, but those so-called quakes were rather minor -- perhaps magnitude 3 or 4, just shook slightly, not very strong. This time it was much stronger. The bed was swaying back and forth like a swing we played in our childhood," said Huang Fei, Chinese resident in Valencia.

He then rushed downstairs to find that all his neighbors had come out.

Huang said he drove to an open area, grabbed something to eat at a restaurant, and waited there until it felt safe to return home at around 22:00.

"The vibration was intense, but fortunately, it didn't last very long. In our area, there have been no reports of major building collapses so far. Among friends and local community groups, we haven't heard of any serious damage nearby. However, several buildings reportedly collapsed in Caracas and in coastal communities farther away. We live about 50 kilometers from the coast," said Huang.

The twin earthquakes were the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and the deadliest in decades.

Venezuela's health ministry raised the death toll to at least 235 on Thursday evening. The number of injured had climbed to 4,300.

Chinese resident in Venezuela recalls thrilling moments of earthquakes

China will accelerate its construction of a new-type energy system during the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), with new energy expected to become the dominant component of the country's installed power capacity by 2030, Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration, said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Wang, also a member of the Communist Party of China Leadership Group of the National Development and Reform Commission, briefed the media along with his colleagues on China's key plans for speeding up the development of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system in five years.

"By 2030, China will have initially established a new energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient. The share of new energy installed capacity will exceed 50 percent, making it the dominant component of power generation capacity. Non-fossil fuel power generation will account for 50 percent of total electricity output, becoming the primary source of electricity. Additionally, coal and oil consumption will peak,"said Wang.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued a plan in June, which sets out targets for strengthening energy security, advancing the green transition, boosting technological self-reliance and improving market mechanisms, among others.

The plan aims to make key technologies and equipment in the energy industrial chain largely self-reliant and controllable, while positioning China at the forefront of global energy technology innovation.

China has set the dual carbon goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.

China aims for new energy to become main power source by 2030: official