Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela late Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 700, according to interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

The twin tremors, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), caused widespread destruction, collapsing buildings, crippling infrastructure, and forcing the closure of the country’s main airport.

Rescue teams and residents worked through the night, digging through rubble in search of survivors. Rodriguez declared a nationwide state of emergency, warning that the hardest-hit region of La Guaira, near the capital Caracas, had yet to be fully assessed. She also confirmed that more than 20 aftershocks followed the initial quakes.

Scenes of panic unfolded across Caracas, where terrified residents fled into the streets. “The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible,” said Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee. In the Altamira neighborhood, a 22-story building collapsed entirely, with volunteers calling out names of missing relatives as they searched the debris.

International aid was swift. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the deployment of search and rescue teams, medical supplies, and humanitarian assistance. President Donald Trump described the quakes as “massive in scale” and expressed condolences to the Venezuelan people.

The first tremor struck at 2204 GMT near the coastal town of Moron, followed less than a minute later by the larger quake 45 kilometers away. USGS classified the second as the mainshock, preceded by the smaller foreshock. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged residents to evacuate damaged buildings and confirmed that gas supplies had been cut to prevent accidents.

The Maiquetia International Airport near Caracas sustained severe damage and was shut down. Tremors were felt as far as Bogotá, Colombia, where alarms sounded and buildings were evacuated. Authorities in both countries ruled out the risk of a tsunami.

The disaster recalls Venezuela’s history of deadly quakes, including the 1967 Caracas earthquake that killed 236 and the 1997 tremor in the northeast that claimed 73 lives.