Rescue crews worked through collapsed buildings and piles of concrete across parts of Venezuela on Thursday after two powerful earthquakes struck the country, killing at least 164 people and injuring 971 others, according to Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

Authorities were focusing emergency efforts on the areas hit hardest by Wednesday evening’s back-to-back earthquakes, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5. The tremors were among the strongest recorded in Venezuela in more than a century and were felt across a wide area of the region.

Rodríguez said teams were being moved from other parts of the country to support rescue operations in La Guaira state, north of Caracas along the Caribbean coast. She described the area as a “disaster zone,” citing extensive structural damage and a large number of collapsed buildings.

Television footage on Thursday showed emergency workers using power tools to cut through debris as they searched for people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. In one widely broadcast scene, three children covered in dust were pulled alive from the remains of a collapsed structure in La Guaira.

The scale of the destruction extended beyond residential neighborhoods. Venezuela’s main airport sustained damage and was closed, adding further strain to response efforts. Across the capital, Caracas, residents rushed into the streets as the earthquakes struck, later returning to search damaged areas and look for missing relatives and neighbors.

Video circulating online appeared to show dozens of injured people receiving treatment outside a hospital in La Guaira, with some patients lying on the ground while others were cared for on hospital beds moved outdoors.

Officials said daylight hours were critical as rescuers attempted to reach survivors as quickly as possible. Rodríguez urged businesses to make heavy construction equipment available to support operations in the worst-affected areas, where access to trapped victims remained a major challenge.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodríguez said.

The earthquakes were felt far beyond Venezuela’s borders. Buildings were evacuated in locations as distant as Brazil’s Amazon region, roughly 1,700 kilometers from Caracas, reflecting the strength of the seismic event.

Although Venezuela lies near several fault lines, strong earthquakes are less common than in many other parts of Latin America because of its position between the South American and Caribbean tectonic plates.

Rodríguez said search-and-rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to assist. As emergency crews continued their work, authorities remained focused on locating survivors and responding to the immediate humanitarian needs emerging from one of the country’s most powerful earthquakes in generations.