Devastating twin earthquakes struck Venezuela in succession on Wednesday evening, leveling buildings and transforming areas of its populous northern states into scenes of destruction.
The extent of casualties and damage remained unclear on Thursday morning as rescuers combed through rubble, and as the force of the quakes stoked fears of a severe death toll. At least 164 people were killed and hundreds more were injured, officials said. Many others have been reported missing.
President Delcy Rodríguez said that initial reports of deaths did not include the worst-hit state of La Guaira, where many buildings had collapsed.
Here’s what to know.
How big were the quakes?
Seismologists recorded the earthquakes’ epicenters in the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy, west of Caracas. Tremors were felt more than 100 miles away.
The initial earthquake hit at 6:04 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday with a magnitude of 7.2. The epicenter was near San Felipe, a city of about 220,000 people.
Around 39 seconds later, a second, stronger quake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit nearby. It was the strongest earthquake to strike Venezuela since October 1900.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquakes were the result of the Caribbean tectonic plate grinding against the South American one.
Two smaller follow-up earthquakes were recorded near Caracas, and seismologists assessed that at least one aftershock at a magnitude of 5.0 or greater over the next week is likely.
How many people have died?
Ms. Rodríguez said in a phone call to state television on Thursday morning that at least 164 people had been killed. Hundreds more were reported injured.
The strongest tremors struck the northern states of Yaracuy, Carabobo, Aragua and La Guaira, which include some of Venezuela’s most densely populated regions.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, many houses in those areas are made of unreinforced brick masonry and adobe blocks, which are particularly vulnerable in earthquakes.
In some neighborhoods of Caracas, buildings collapsed and the power went out. Witnesses described buildings shaking violently, windows rattling and water pipes bursting.
Photos and videos verified by The New York Times show concrete buildings reduced to rubble and others severely damaged. In the city of La Guaira, high-rise tower blocks were seen tilting.
Simón Bolívar International Airport, which is in the same state and serves Caracas, was closed by authorities after it suffered heavy damage. Video shows collapsed ceilings in one of the terminal buildings.
How are emergency crews responding?
Venezuelan authorities have mobilized hundreds of emergency responders. Ms. Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, called on doctors and nurses to report to work and said that hotels and shelters would be opened for those without homes.
At the site of one collapsed building in El Paraíso, a neighborhood of Caracas, rescuers pulled a young girl and a dog from the rubble. In the capital’s Chacao municipality, the mayor said that at least 22 people had been rescued.
The United States and several Latin American countries said they would send humanitarian aid and rescue personnel. Jeremy Lewin, the State Department’s senior official in charge of humanitarian affairs, said that the U.S. response would include search and rescue teams and medical and humanitarian supplies.
Ms. Rodríguez said that some of those teams, as well as others from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Qatar, would begin arriving on Thursday.
Depending on the extent of the damage, the scale of the rebuilding efforts could dwarf the capabilities of the Venezuelan state, which have been eroded by years of economic collapse and U.S. sanctions.
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