Venezuela have been left reeling following a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake last night.

The United States Geological Society (USGS) measured the massive magnitude 7.3 quake which struck on Tuesday at 5.31pm local time (10.23pm BST).

It struck at a depth of 76 miles, with shaking felt hundreds of miles away.

The considerable depth of the earthquake has meant that Venezuela has avoided tragedy – with no deaths reported so far.

Where did the huge 7.3 earthquake hit in Venezuela?

The USGS recorded the earthquake in the coastal town of Irapa and tremors were felt 286 miles (622 km) away in the capital of Caracas.

Venezuela’s interior minister, Néstor Luis Reverol, tweeted: “We call on all of the people of Venezuela to remain calm.”

Authorities were ready to deal with “any emergency”, he added.

Buildings were evacuated, but no injuries have been reported.

The USGS have said that the earthquake occurred “as the result of oblique-reverse faulting at intermediate depth.

“At the location of the earthquake, the South America plate moves westward with respect to the Caribbean plate at a rate of approximately 20 mm/yr.”

“The South America plate begins its subduction beneath the Caribbean plate about 550 km to the east of today’s earthquake and reaches depths close to 150 km in the vicinity of this event.

“This earthquake occurred near the southern end of the Caribbean subduction zone.”

In downtown Caracas, the unfinished Tower of David skyscraper saw concrete cascade from its upper floors onto the pavement, causing firefighters to close off traffic.

Seismologist Stephen Hicks wrote on Twitter: “M7.3 earthquake today along the northern coast of Venezuela is one of the largest ever recorded earthquakes along the boundary between the Caribbean & South American plates.

“There was an M7.7 quake to the west in 1900 but this will have preceded detailed instrumental recordings.”

Mr Reverol said that the quake had affected five states and that the Venezuelan government, already dealing with a devastating economic crisis, had deployed 20,000 emergency workers.

Venezuela is facing economic chaos, with President Nicolas Maduro implementing drastic changes to the monetary system.

Amongst the changes, the country will officially devalue its currency by about 90 percent and increase the minimum wage by 3,000 percent.

Source: express