The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century.

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.

Rescuers search for survivors in collapsed buildings as USGS warns of potentially catastrophic casualties