2 major earthquakes strike northern Venezuela, near Caracas

on Wednesday, a 7.2-magnitude foreshock, was followed less than a minute later by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake around the same area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. "We can say that the state of La Guairá is experiencing a genuine tragedy and has become a disaster zone," she said. A United Nations humanitarian agency reported more than 100 buildings collapsed in La Guairá. Rescue workers carry a person on a stretcher out of a collapsed building. "Together we will overcome this tragedy," she said in a televised address. Photos and video posted online showed leveled buildings, people running for safety and falling debris from structural damage at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas. The airport has since closed. "When the earthquake started, I was in my house, and it was super hard," Venezuelan journalist María Graterol told NPR's All Things Considered, speaking from Caracas. "You could see how the walls were moving and everything was moving around." A damaged building at Los Palos Grandes after a magnitude 7.2 foreshock struck Venezuela. Families with their pet cats waited outside in the street unable to go into their damaged buildings. The strongest of the "doublet," as the USGS described the twin quakes, is the largest earthquake to strike Venezuela since 1900, when a 7.7-magnitude quake hit the country, according to USGS. People run into a street following an earthquake in Caracas. Federico Parra/Getty Images hide caption The total number of deaths and injuries is not yet clear. USGS modeling estimated deaths could be in the thousands to tens of thousands, with economic losses reaching billions to tens of billions of dollars, according to USGS seismologist Paul Earle. "This doesn't happen very often," Earle told NPR. A man jumps on a collapsed building after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela. Adrian Naranjo/AP hide caption By USGS' estimate, there's a 40% chance that in the next week a 6-magnitude or larger earthquake would strike in the same region, Earle said, and an "almost certainty" of an earthquake measuring at least a magnitude 5. Countries around the world have been offering condolences and support in the recovery. President Trump said online he had instructed his administration to help Venezuela, saying the earthquakes were "both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths." Evacuated people speak by phone waiting at Parque Central urban development complex. Jesus Vargas/Getty Images hide caption Rodríguez said U.S. officials have been in constant contact with her administration since the earthquakes. The disaster is a new test for Washington's role in Venezuela, coming more than five months after Trump sent forces to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from Caracas and said the U.S. would "run" the South American oil-producing country. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration is sending search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Va., and Los Angeles. He said the U.S. is also providing overhead imagery of coastal areas where he said the Venezuelan government does not have full visibility. "Those are the acute short-term needs over the next 48-72 hours because in search and rescue, you are trying to get to people while you can still save their lives. They are buried under rubble," Rubio said. The U.S. military's Southern Command said it's supporting government relief operations with logistics and lifesaving capabilities. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, said his office is coordinating the deployment of teams from around the world. "Even before these earthquakes, nearly 8 million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support," Fletcher said in a statement Thursday. This is a developing story that may be updated. Michele Kelemen, Alex Leff and Scott Detrow contributed to this story from Washington.