Venezuela has declared a state of emergency after two powerful earthquakes struck the country within seconds of each other on Wednesday evening, bringing down buildings in Caracas, damaging the capital’s main international airport and prompting fears of a large number of casualties.

The US Geological Survey, USGS, said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and was followed 39 seconds later by a stronger 7.5-magnitude quake. The tremors struck west of Caracas, along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, and were followed by around 20 strong aftershocks.

No official death toll has yet been released. Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, said there had been fatalities and expressed condolences to the families of those killed, but did not give figures for the dead or injured.

The USGS issued a red alert through its earthquake impact system, warning that the disaster could cause widespread destruction and a high number of casualties.

The first tremor was recorded at 6.04pm local time, at a depth of 21.9 kilometres, about 200 kilometres west of Caracas. The second, shallower quake struck moments later at a depth of about 10 kilometres, around 45 kilometres away.

International and local reports described panic across the capital as residents ran into the streets, glass fell from buildings and power cuts were reported in several areas.

Footage and images circulated on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, appeared to show the scale of the damage. Visegrád 24 posted on X: “The first quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was swiftly followed by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake.” In a second post on X, the same account said: “Horrific images coming out of Venezuela tonight.”

Breaking911 wrote on X that “multiple structures have reportedly collapsed in Caracas, Venezuela, following a powerful earthquake that struck the region.”

Agence France-Presse photographers in Caracas saw search-and-rescue operations being organised around collapsed buildings, with rescuers carrying injured people on stretchers and moving them towards ambulances.

In Altamira, one of the capital’s better-known neighbourhoods, an AFP correspondent saw a 22-storey apartment building that had collapsed and been completely destroyed. Outside, residents shouted the names of relatives, while volunteers climbed through the debris as night fell. “We need flashlights,” one person was heard shouting.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed that buildings had collapsed in the capital and said he had ordered the natural gas supply to be cut off in order to prevent further accidents.

“Some structures have been damaged, and we want to prevent any gas-related accidents,” he said. He confirmed there were injuries, but gave no casualty count.

The situation remained unclear in Puerto Cabello and San Felipe, cities closer to the epicentre, where more than 400,000 people live.

The OSINTdefender account posted that “utter devastation” had been seen across the northern coastal city of La Guaira, following what it described as “tonight’s pair of major earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, with an epicentre just west of Caracas.”

Another account, Volcaholic, posted on X: “Whole streets just gone after the earthquake in Venezuela. The damage is catastrophic and the casualty count is going to be horrific.”

In Caracas, many residents spent the night outdoors, afraid to return to their homes as aftershocks continued.

“It was unbelievable; I don’t even know how long it lasted. I was on the top floor, and things started falling,” said Heidi Romero, a 42-year-old shop manager who works in a shopping centre in Altamira.

“The whole wall was covered in cracks, things were falling from the ceiling. It was horrible,” said Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee.

Carmen Gedes, 69, said she was in the bedroom of her bedridden sister when the shaking began.

“The intensity just kept increasing,” said Gedes, who lives in a middle-class neighbourhood in the hills of Caracas. “I started to see the windows shaking, then everything started shaking. My sister, a neighbour and I were clinging to each other. We couldn’t get out.”

Rodríguez said school and rail services had been suspended. She also announced that Simón Bolívar International Airport, in Maquetía, La Guaira, about 40 kilometres from Caracas, had been closed because of serious damage.

Images shared by Venezuelan congressman Wilmer Asuaje appeared to show sections of roofing collapsed inside an airport terminal, with people running in panic.

The tremors were also felt strongly in neighbouring Colombia, including in Bogotá, around 1,000 kilometres from Caracas. Colombia’s risk and disaster management unit said there was no tsunami risk on the country’s Caribbean coast.

The US tsunami early-warning system initially warned of a possible threat from dangerous waves affecting Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands, and the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The warning was withdrawn about an hour later.

Authorities in Venezuela have urged residents to remain alert as rescue operations continue and aftershocks are expected.