A powerful pair of earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck northwest Venezuela on Wednesday evening, causing heavy damage in the capital city of Caracas . The devastating tremors are reported to be among the strongest to strike the country in more than a century .

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the initial 7.2 magnitude foreshock was centered 17.6 miles northwest of the town of Montalbán at a depth of 8.2 miles . Less than a minute later, a 7.5 magnitude mainshock struck just north of the first, approximately 21 miles northwest of Montalbán . The USGS described the consecutive quakes, which were separated by just 39 seconds, as a “doublet” event .

The intense shaking was felt across the entire country . In Caracas, panicked residents evacuated violently swaying buildings, and many were left visibly shocked as entire walls collapsed into the streets, leaving furniture exposed to the outside . Massive columns of dust were seen rising over two typically busy neighborhoods in the capital.

“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” described Caracas resident Roberto Damas . “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out” .

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello reported “alarming situations” in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, where multiple homes and buildings had collapsed. Cabello urged citizens to remain outdoors due to the severe danger of aftershocks further damaging compromised structures. He advised the public to check on the elderly and children to ensure no one had been harmed.

“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello stated on state television.

The immense seismic activity briefly triggered tsunami advisories for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with initial warnings of hazardous sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents [2, 3]. These advisories were later canceled, and neighboring Colombia also confirmed there was no tsunami threat to its Caribbean coastline.

Rescue workers and municipal police have begun operating at the sites of collapsed structures, though the full extent of the destruction and the total injury toll remain unclear at this time .