A pair of powerful earthquakes slammed Venezuela less than a minute apart on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas.
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The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the first earthquake was near the town of San Felipe, approximately 100 miles west of the capital, and the second, larger earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit only 39 seconds later close to the nearby town of Yumare.
“High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS wrote on its site.
The quakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. The quakes struck shortly after 6 p.m.
Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency and announced in remarks on state television that the airport in Caracas is closed due to heavy damage.
Rodriguez expressed condolences to Venezuelans who lost family members and noted that there had been 20 aftershocks recorded.
Authorities have not released the number of possible casualties across the country. The governor of Falcón, Víctor Clark, said 15 people were being searched for in the rubble in his state, west of Caracas. Another 35 were injured, he said.
In the U.S., Lucy Jones, a seismologist and visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology, said that predictions by the USGS are that it will be a severe event.
“This is one of the really great, very difficult, very damaging earthquakes, because you combined a very large event with residences of a lot of people,” Jones said at a video briefing.
In Caracas, people evacuated swaying buildings and remained outside, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy.
“The scene was like a horror movie,” one woman in the city told the Reuters news agency after she managed to open a door and leave her building. “We had to climb over the rubble and everything.”
One video posted online and verified by NBC News showed dust billowing across a portion of the Caracas skyline.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the quake could be felt in several states. The Altamira neighborhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings, he said, suggesting people were injured in the earthquake and asking motorists to give way to ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
“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 said on state television. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”
He also urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.
“The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” Caracas resident Roberto Damas said. “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out.”
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that the U.S. “stands with the Venezuelan people in the aftermath of this evening’s devastating earthquakes.”
“We’re in touch with the authorities and mobilizing assistance. May God bless our Venezuelan friends at this difficult moment,” he wrote on social media.
Venezuela has already faced economic challenges and poverty, and the United Nations humanitarian affairs agency says that almost 8 million of the country’s 28 million people were in need of assistance as of May.
U.S. President Donald Trump in January ordered a military raid into Venezuela to arrest its president, Nicolás Maduro, who is charged in the U.S. related to narcotics trafficking.