On Wednesday evening, Venezuela was hit with its largest tremors in more than a century — toppling buildings and claiming more than 100 lives. The event, according to the US Geological Survey, was a rare phenomenon called a “doublet” that contained not one but two major earthquakes.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake and a 7.5-magnitude were less than a minute apart, said the U.S. Geological Survey. The second earthquake was the largest to hit the country since 1900.

It appears the two big earthquakes in Venezuela that occurred in rapid succession may have involved two separate fault lines. Several faults intersect in this tectonically complex…