At least 164 are dead and 1,000 injured after powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes rock Venezuela

At least 164 people have died and 1,000 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Thursday, adding that rescue teams are rushing to the hardest-hit areas to free people trapped under rubble. She added that she expects the toll to rise “dramatically.”

Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday afternoon’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. The country’s main airport was damaged and closed, while buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

A major search and rescue operation is under way, especially in the capital, Caracas. Authorities have not yet released a breakdown of the victims by age, gender or location, and officials said the figures are expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.

The Altamira and El Paraiso neighbourhoods of Caracas are the worst affected. Damage has also been reported in La Guaira and other parts of central Venezuela.

The USGS warned that the death toll could rise significantly because many buildings in the affected region are made from unreinforced brick masonry and adobe (mud bricks), which are particularly vulnerable during strong earthquakes.

Its latest assessment gave a 39 percent probability that deaths could reach between 1,000 and 10,000 and a 37 percent probability of 10,000 to 100,000 deaths. These are statistical estimates designed to support emergency planning and are not confirmed casualty figures.

The twin earthquakes originated in Yaracuy state, west of Caracas, according to the USGS. The first, a magnitude 7.2 quake, struck at a depth of 22km (14 miles), followed less than a minute later by an even larger magnitude 7.5 quake at a depth of about 10km (6 miles).

Although the epicentres were outside the capital, the shaking was felt across Caracas and much of central and western Venezuela, including the states of Carabobo, Miranda, La Guaira and Trujillo. Tremors were also reported in neighbouring Colombia and as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region, more than 1,700km (1,050 miles) from Caracas.