Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of others were injured as a pair of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said in a televised address.
The two quakes -- a 7.2 magnitude one followed just seconds later by a 7.5 -- struck the coast of Venezuela, knocking down buildings in Caracas, the capital, and sending residents racing into the street.
Emergency responders were undertaking "intensive rescue operations" early on Thursday, searching for people thought to be under the rubble, Rodriguez said.
A website set up for Venezuelans to report missing loved ones has more than 25,000 people reported missing.
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, June 25, 2026.
Pedro Mattey/AP Photo
People walk past a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas, June 25, 2026.
Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images
While not an official count of those confirmed missing, the website reflects the chaos on the ground as people try to reach family and friends.
The website says more than 1,200 people have been found after previously being reported missing.
-ABC News’Aicha El Hammar
3 hours and 33 minutes ago
American in Venezuela recounts moment earthquakes hit
American Jason Wang said he had just finished hiking in Venezuela and was about to board a cable car when the earthquakes hit.
"The whole building just started shaking. The floor under me was shaking, and then all of a sudden, everyone was panicking," he told ABC News Live. "We were just rushing for the door to exit the building, and none of us knew what was going on until a few minutes afterwards."
2:51
'Everyone started panicking': American in Venezuela recounts moment earthquakes hitJason Wang, who was about to board a cable car when the earthquakes hit, said he felt a "huge sense of relief" once he was back at his hotel and able to communicate with family.
ABCNews.com
Wang said locals helped him evacuate off the mountain.
"All of the locals were just so kind," he said. "Some people [were] cutting down the trees that fell on the road to create a tunnel for us to get past, ‘cause there was really no other way to go down a mountain. We had to walk 10 kilometers from the top back to the city center."
Wang said he felt a "huge sense of relief" once he was back at his hotel and able to communicate with family.
8:56 AM EDT
US sending search and rescue teams, Rubio says
Secretary of State Rubio said he spoke with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and he said the U.S. is sending search and rescue teams.
“We’re maybe already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. There'll be some others we'll add,” Rubio said.
People stand before damaged apartment buildings following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, some 30km north-west of Caracas, June 25, 2026.
Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images
"That’s their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts. They have a bunch of collapsed buildings, and so they'll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that,” he said.
"The airport there is badly damaged, so we'll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there, and then we're also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been,” Rubio said.
A woman walks past a building damaged during an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 25, 2026.
Pedro Mattey/AP Photo
He said the administration would have "a better assessment" of Venezuela’s longer-term needs “when we're on the ground.”
Rubio declined to put a dollar amount on the aid the U.S. would commit to Venezuela, saying it was too soon.
He said Qatar, El Salvador, Chile and other countries have also offered to help.
-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston
6:29 AM EDT
Death toll rises to at least 164 after quakes, president reportedly says
At least 164 people were dead and another 971 people were injured after two strong earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said early on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
