At least 164 people have been killed and 1,000 injured in two powerful back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela that began on Wednesday evening.Reported by CTV News, the earthquakes were 7.2 to 7.5 in magnitude, with multiple cities being affected in northern Venezuela.According to the BBC, the first earthquake was 7.2 in magnitude, striking 23km south-east of Yumare, a town west of the capital of Caracas, according to the US Geological Society (USGS).The second earthquake 7.5 in magnitude, hit in a similar location just 38 seconds after the first..Like in the clip above, the quake's impact caused severe damage and collapse of several buildings in both Caracas and La Guaira.Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, stated the states of Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Aragua and Miranda have also been affected.The country's main airport, Maiquetia airport, on the outskirts of Caracas has been closed due to severe damage.Video shows people in the airport ducking and running while they watch the building fall apart around them, dust spreading everywhere..In another clip, a 10-storey hotel in La Guaira shows a completely collapsed building, now a pile of debris.A clip from TMZ shows a terrified puppy rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in Caracas.The dog is now in the care of the Caracas Fire Department.Venezuelan president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, has reported 250 buildings have been damaged or lost in the country due to the earthquakes. .Reported by the BBC, he adds rescue efforts continue, confirming the arrival of special rescue units from the US, Mexico, Spain, Qatar, and the UN. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has also introduced measures which include a request from private companies to provide machinery to remove debris and the creation of a $200 million fund for assistance. On a website called "Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela," or Missing persons from the Venezuela earthquake, over 36,000 people have been reported as missing, over 2,000 have been reported as being located. These reports are all from people reporting on their own on the website, and are not confirmed. .Venezuela lies along the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, which are moving past one another.The USGS claims the sudden release of friction between the two plates is what likely triggered the earthquake.
