AT LEAST 164 people have died and 971 were injured after a pair of powerful quakes rocked Venezuela, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said today.

Wednesday evening’s 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region. 

Buildings were evacuated in places as far away as Brazil’s Amazon, about 1,050 miles from Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 105 miles west of Caracas with a depth of about 14 miles.

The USGS reported a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a minute later, with a depth of about six miles and an epicentre 10 miles south-west of Moron.

Footage on state TV showed three children, covered in dust but alive, pulled from the rubble in La Guaira state, which Ms Rodriguez described as a “disaster zone” and one of the areas hardest hit by the quakes because of the large number of collapsed buildings.

Ms Rodriguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which sits north of Caracas on the coast.

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

Ms Rodriguez said search-and-rescue teams certified by the United Nations were on their way to Venezuela to assist.

There were also offers of assistance from across the world.

Caracas resident Hector Ricci said the quake “started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together.”

Roberto Gamas, another Caracas resident, said the building he was in “shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong.”