Two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela on Wednesday, leaving at least 164 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured, according to officials.
The quakes caused widespread damage, power outages, and panic across the country.
The first tremor registered a magnitude of 7.2, followed about a minute later by a stronger 7.5-magnitude quake, according to U.
S. monitoring agencies.
It was the most severe earthquake in Venezuela in over a century.
The epicenter was near San Felipe, a city of about 220,000 people located roughly 127 miles west of the capital, Caracas.
The city of La Guaira was the hardest hit, with dozens of buildings destroyed, though its casualties were not yet included in the official toll.
In Caracas, buildings collapsed as residents fled into the streets. Power outages darkened parts of the capital, and subway and train services were halted.
Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and ordered all doctors and nurses to report to work immediately.
The government provided hotel rooms and shelters for displaced residents whose homes were destroyed, and asked the public to report missing persons.
Separately, two other earthquakes occurred Wednesday: a 5.6-magnitude quake in Northern California caused injuries and power outages, and a 6.9-magnitude quake off the coast of Japan resulted in no serious damage or injuries.
