Photos: Massive quakes in Venezuela force people onto streets, reduce buildings to rubble

Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people and injuring 700 after dozens of buildings collapsed into piles of shattered concrete and steel in and around the capital Caracas

Municipal police officers evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on June 24

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 tremor

Rescue workers carry a person on a stretcher out of a collapsed building in Caracas

Twenty aftershocks followed, according to interim President Delcy Rodriguez, with the states of Trujillo, Carabobo, Miranda and La Guaira hit the hardest

Residents across Caracas rushed to evacuate as buildings shook

Buildings across the city were destroyed, while interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced a state of emergency

Residents in Venezuela's capital and nearby cities described scenes of terror and confusion as buildings collapsed, windows rattled, and homes lost power

"The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked. Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible," said 54-year-old bank employee Odalis Escalona

Rescuers search through the rubble of a collapsed building in the Altamira neighbourhood following an earthquake in Caracas on June 24, 2026