Venezuelans have described panic, destruction and desperate escapes after two violent earthquakes hit the country within a minute on Wednesday evening.
"I've never been so scared in my life; it was terrifying," a 57-year-old woman told dpa from the eastern part of the Venezuelan capital Caracas, which is just under 200 kilometres from the epicentre of the quakes.
"Two high-rise blocks collapsed near us, and the neighbouring building is missing walls," she said.
Her own building was spared, but she said furniture had overturned, pictures had fallen from the walls, and shattered glass was scattered throughout the home. The tremors were initially so strong that she and her husband were unable to leave the room.
They eventually escaped, running out onto the street with their neighbours. Two other residents had to be rescued from a lift in the building, the woman said.
She said that after the quakes, the power was cut off for hours and the mobile network was down.
A resident near the city of Maracay, around 100 kilometres from the epicentre, described violent shaking. "I was sitting in the car and it was swaying back and forth like a sheet of paper," he told dpa.
He said at least two houses in the area had collapsed, including a relatively new one. "I've experienced earthquakes before, but never one like this," the man said. "It was bad, really bad."
The resident said the disaster reminded him of the devastating 1967 earthquake in Venezuela that killed more than 200 people.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the two earthquakes that struck on Wednesday evening at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5.
Authorities have so far reported at least 32 people dead and around 700 injured, but with rescue operations continuing, there are fears of a much higher death toll. A model calculation by the USGS showed a very high likelihood of more than 1,000 deaths.
