Up to 100,000 feared dead as back-to-back magnitude 7.5 quakes devastate Venezuela

Fears of mass casualties are mounting after a series of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in rapid succession.

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck roughly 160 kilometers west of the capital Caracas on Wednesday local time, followed within about 30 seconds by a stronger magnitude 7.5 quake, Reuters reported, citing the US Geological Survey.

The USGS warned that the back-to-back quakes were likely to cause widespread damage, saying there was a high probability of "enormous casualties and massive property losses." The agency also estimated the death toll could range from a minimum of 10,000 to as many as 100,000.

The Venezuelan government has yet to release official casualty figures.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a national broadcast that "some buildings in the capital Caracas have collapsed, and homes have been destroyed."

Authorities deployed rescue personnel and emergency response teams to the affected areas to search for survivors and assess the scale of the damage. Because two major quakes above magnitude 7 struck within a short interval, officials have also raised the possibility of additional aftershocks.