A devastating pair of earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast on Wednesday, leaving scores of people dead and widespread destruction in its wake.
The second quake, at magnitude 7.5, was Venezuela’s most powerful in more than a century.
Many people were missing or still trapped beneath rubble as search and rescue efforts continued on Thursday. Some displaced residents have nowhere to go after their homes were flattened in the port city of La Guaira, the capital Caracas and surrounding areas.
The disaster comes at a dire time for Venezuela, which was already deep in a political and financial crisis.

Rescue workers aid Daniel Cordero after pulling him from the rubble in Catia la Mar on Friday, two days after the earthquakes.
Fernando Vergara/AP
Members of the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela stand on a cracked road in Moron.
Juan Carlos Hernandez/Reuters
Venezuelan military personnel stand guard as they distribute aid in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters
People inspect rubble in La Guaira.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters

People search for missing relatives at the collapsed building where they lived two days the earthquakes in La Guaira.
Ariana Cubillos/AP
People assist in taking down a wall during rescue efforts in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

Members of a religious organization distribute food in La Guaira.
Ariana Cubillos/AP
A man walks amid collapsed buildings in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

Police officers remove a body as rescue efforts continue in La Guaira.
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People search for the name of victims at the Domingo Luciani hospital, in Caracas.
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A victim of the twin earthquake is admitted at the Domingo Luciani hospital in Caracas.
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Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira.
Pedro Mattey/AP
A rescuer works at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
People react next to the body of a casualty in the aftermath of earthquakes in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

An aerial view of a damaged tower block in La Guaira.
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A person receives medical attention in Caracas.
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
A road is damaged in La Guaira.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters

An apartment building is damaged in Catia La Mar.
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People carry goods from damaged stores in Catia La Mar.
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People search for casualties amid the rubble of collapsed buildings in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

A man carries a mattress past damaged residential buildings in Catia La Mar.
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A man climbs out from a damaged apartment building in Catia La Mar.
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People react in Catia La Mar.
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People search through the rubble around a trapped car in Catia La Mar.
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People walk past a collapsed building in Caracas.
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Residents walk through the rubble of apartment buildings in Catia la Mar.
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Juan Carlos Gomez, a firefighter from Caracas, looks for his sister and nephew amid the rubble of a building in La Guaira.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters
Fanny Nasri and Noemi Cordoba wait at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas. They were waiting for news of Nasri's son and Cordoba's granddaughter.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters

Residents and emergency workers stand near damaged buildings in Catia La Mar.
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Rescue teams search through rubble in Caracas.
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Cordoba and Astrid Espinoza wait at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas. Emergency workers for searching for Shantal Quintero, who is Cordoba's granddaughter and Espinoza's daughter.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters
Residents search for earthquake victims in La Guaira on Wednesday, June 24.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters
A man rescued from a collapsed building is treated inside an ambulance in Caracas.
Gaby Oraa/Reuters

Rescue workers carry a person on a stretcher out of a collapsed building in Caracas.
Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

People run through the streets of Caracas after the earthquakes.
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Rescue workers evacuate an injured person from a collapsed building in Caracas.
Manaure Quintero/AFP/Getty Images

A boy comforts his mother in Caracas.
Pedro Mattey/AP

People wait outside their homes in Caracas after the earthquakes.
Ariana Cubillos/AP

A car is smashed by a collapsed building in Caracas.
Adrian Naranjo/AP

People with pets evacuate a building at Parque Central Complex in Caracas.
Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
A woman runs with a child to take cover in La Guaira.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

Residents console a man outside their homes in Caracas.
Ariana Cubillos/AP

First responders search the rubble of a damaged building in Caracas.
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Senior citizens sit outside damaged buildings in Caracas.
Adrian Naranjo/AP

First responders survey a damaged building in Caracas.
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A woman walks with children after the earthquake.
Maxwell Briceno/Reuters

People embrace each other in Caracas.
Manaure Quintero/AFP/Getty Images


