Urgent search and rescue efforts are underway for survivors of two powerful earthquakes in northern Venezuela that buckled and pancaked buildings and homes throughout the region on Wednesday evening, leaving an untold number dead and missing.Photos taken from the scene show people desperately searching and digging through the rubble for potential survivors after the twin quakes struck back-to-back around 6 p.m., with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively.Acting President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed 164 deaths and 971 injuries early Thursday. The U.S. Geological Survey has meanwhile estimated that the death toll could range from as many as 10,000 to 100,000.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. has deployed search and rescue teams to the area and that long-term aid to the Caribbean country will “be big, it’ll be fast, and it’ll be effective.”See photos of the aftermath here:A man walks among the rubble of a building that collapsed in earthquakes the previous day in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Thursday.via Associated PressA resident examines a damaged building in Maiquetia on Thursday.via Associated PressA heavily damaged apartment building is seen following the earthquakes in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, northwest of Caracas.JUAN BARRETO via Getty ImagesPatients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, on Thursday.via Associated PressPatients lie outside the hospital after its evacuation on Thursday.via Associated PressDamaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira on Thursday.via Associated PressPeople stand before a damaged apartment building in Catia La Mar on Thursday.FEDERICO PARRA via Getty ImagesA woman embraces a child in Caracas on Wednesday.via Associated PressA man inspects a collapsed apartment building in Catia La Mar on Thursday.FEDERICO PARRA via Getty ImagesA man searches through the rubble of a collapsed building in Catia La Mar on Thursday.JUAN BARRETO via Getty ImagesWomen react in the street in Catia La Mar on Thursday.FEDERICO PARRA via Getty ImagesResidents walk past damaged buildings and debris scattered along a street in Catia La Mar on Thursday.FEDERICO PARRA via Getty ImagesEvacuated people gather outside in Caracas on Thursday.Jesus Vargas via Getty ImagesA car drives in front of collapsed buildings in Catia La Mar on Thursday.FEDERICO PARRA via Getty ImagesPeople walk past a collapsed building in Caracas on Thursday.MANAURE QUINTERO via Getty ImagesPeople are seen gathered outside their homes in Caracas early Thursday.via Associated PressA firefighter rescues a dog from a building that collapsed in Caracas on Wednesday.via Associated PressMunicipal police officers evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building in Caracas on Wednesday.JUAN BARRETO via Getty ImagesEmergency personnel are seen at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas on Wednesday.Bloomberg via Getty ImagesRescue personnel transport an elderly person on a stretcher after the individual was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Caracas on Wednesday.Anadolu via Getty ImagesA resident is seen crying in the street in the Los Palos Grandes neighborhood following an earthquake in Caracas on Wednesday.Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPeople and rescuers work on the debris of a damaged building in Caracas on Wednesday.Edilzon Gamez via Getty ImagesA pickup truck is seen stuck in a large crack in the road in Caracas on Wednesday.Jesus Vargas via Getty ImagesRescue teams handle a survivor outside of a collapsed building in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Caracas on Wednesday.Anadolu via Getty ImagesPeople are seen searching the remains of a collapsed building in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Caracas on Wednesday.Anadolu via Getty Images