Thousands feared dead following two powerful earthquakes in Venezuela

Two powerful earthquakes have struck Venezuela, collapsing buildings in Caracas and elsewhere, killing at least 164 people, and wounding nearly 1,000 across the country.

While the epicentre was an area west of the capital, the tremors could be felt nearly 1,500 kilometres away in the Colombia capital, Bogota.

Wednesday evening’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.

Television broadcasts Thursday showed rescue workers using power tools to work their way into piles of rubble where buildings once stood.

Panicked residents of the capital were sent pouring into the streets, and after the quakes many people walked among the debris searching for the missing among collapsed buildings and toppled electric poles.

With emergency workers continuing the search for survivors in the extensive rubble, the United States Geological Survey says there could be as many as 10,000 deaths.

Many people were at home when the quakes struck as Wednesday was a public holiday.

On Thursday, scores of people took to social media asking for help finding loved ones, posting pictures of missing relatives and their last known location.

As pledges of aid pour in from around the world, acting President Delcy Rodríguez has declared a state of emergency.

Speaking on state television, she said the airport in the capital was closed, trains were suspended, and school cancelled for several days.

Rodríguez said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquakes, and had instructed the economy and finance ministers to oversee the effort.

She appealed to businesses to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations.

United States President Donald Trump is among those who have offered to help. The US military toppled Venezuela’s longtime leader Nicolás Maduro in January.

Ecuador ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid, and Rodríguez said Qatar, Mexico, and El Salvador had already sent rescue personnel.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more than 100 buildings have collapsed in La Guaira, north of Caracas, the most affected state.

Video shared online appeared to show dozens of people, some lying on the ground and others on hospital beds, being treated outside a hospital in La Guaira.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.