Two major earthquakes strike Venezuela, death toll likely to reach thousands

Reuters: Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela around 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Wednesday. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas, followed less than a minute later by another of magnitude 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

USGS says there is a risk of more than 10,000 deaths, though official casualty tolls have been slow to come in. Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez says at least 164 people died and nearly 1000 were injured as buildings collapsed.

US President Donald Trump says there could be a 'devastating number of deaths'.Trump has offered help to the South American country where the US military toppled longtime leader Nicolás Maduro in January.

Christopher Sabatini, director of the Latin America Programme at the Chatham House think tank, said the earthquake compounds existing problems in Venezuela.

"There have been decades of underinvestment and even collapse in Venezuela’s infrastructure: roads, bridges, hospitals, and the electrical grid," he said.

"This deepens that misery and raises the question of who will invest in this under an interim government that lacks the rule of law and fiscal transparency."

He said this was further complicated by the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"The U.S. can rally to provide some humanitarian support but the key actor in coordinating that and laying the groundwork for rebuilding no longer exists," he said.

Trump has said the U.S. pays disproportionately for foreign aid and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden.

Earlier we reported that Rodriguez announced the death toll had risen to at least 164.

We can now bring you a little more from her statement.

Rodriguez also said the number of injured was now at nearly 1,000.

She confirmed that 10 buildings had collapsed in Caracas, but gave no further details about La Guaria, the hardest-hit region.

She also asked the private sector for help to rent machinery to assist with debris removal and rescue efforts.