At least 188 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured after powerful back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela, according to the latest reports
Rescuers are searching the rubble in Caracas and the state of La Guaira, where the UN says more than 100 buildings have collapsed - video shows people running for cover
The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit a minute apart. The second was the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900 - you can see a "shake-map" here
One man in Caracas says it felt like "the world was moving for a long time", while Leander tells the BBC he slept on the street after his home was damaged in the quakes
The US Geological Survey says thousands of people could have been killed in total - we take a look at their estimates here
BBC News Mundo, our Spanish language website, is also providing live updates
BBC reporter in Caracas describes extensive damage
Further to Vanessa's video of the moment when the quake struck, the journalist has described to us the aftermath of the tremor.
The number of deaths and injuries is not yet known, she says, but she describes how her own neighbour broke her arm during the shaking.
Moment BBC reporter's apartment shakes
"Oh God! Oh God!" exclaims BBC reporter Vanessa Silva as the earthquake hits her home in Caracas.
A chandelier - and the apartment itself - can be seen shaking while a rumbling is heard in the background.
Image source, Getty ImagesRescue workers evacuate an injured person from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on 24 June 24.
If you're just joining us, here's a round-up of what's happened so far:
'Heaviest quake I've felt in Venezuela', says Caracas resident
Cracked glass and smashed food containers litter the floor of one Caracas resident's home.
Juan Arraez says this is the "heaviest quake I've felt in Venezuela".
“It’s the strongest quake I’ve ever felt in my life,” journalist and BBC News Mundo contributor Nicole Kolster says.
She was on the 7th floor of an apartment building in Palos Grandes, central Caracas, when the earthquake began.
"I saw the windows moving and the only thing I could think to do was to get between the front door and a stone wall, which in my judgment is quite strong, to try to protect myself,” Kolster recounts.
She stayed there “for quite a while,” until she heard neighbours shouting for everyone to go down to the street.
"I thought the building was going to fall on top of me," she says.
Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor
Image source, Getty ImagesThe first quake struck at 18:04 local time (22:04 GMT) which would normally have been the height of the rush hour.
But 24 June is a national holiday in Venezuela, commemorating the 1821 Battle of Carabobo, a decisive victory by Venezuelan independence leader Simón Bolívar against the Spanish colonial power.
More people than usual would therefore have been at home than on a normal weekday.
Footage shared on social media showed residents rushing into the streets.
In one video two men can be seen trying to hold on to a swaying vitrine full of china, while items crash to the floor.
You can also get live updates on BBC News Mundo, our Spanish language website.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has asked people to leave their homes, AFP reports. Cabello says that petrol supplies to several building have been preemptively cut as a precaution.
"We have some damaged structures and we don't want any kind of accident involving gas to occur," Cabello said.
Image source, US Geological SurveyThe epicentre of the second earthquake is located about 23km southeast of Yumare in Venezuela.
Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor
Image source, Getty ImagesThis is not the first time the Venezuelan capital has been hit by a major earthquake.
In 1967, more than 200 people died when a 6.6-magnitude quake struck Caracas, destroying buildings in the middle-class neighbourhood of Palos Grandes and the upper-class area of Altamira.
Both of those neighbourhoods have again been affected by Wednesday's quake, with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello telling state TV that "buildings have collapsed there".
Like this time, in 1967 residents also reported feeling twin shocks.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) says high casualties and extensive damage are probable in Venezuela after back-to-back earthquakes rattled the capital and surrounding regions on Wednesday evening.
"The disaster is likely widespread" and aftershocks with potentially strong shaking may follow, the USGS says.
There's a 44% chance of more than 10,000 fatalities, a 30% chance of more than 100,000, according to the agency. And there's also a significant risk of landslides and liquefaction on the ground.
Liquefaction is a phenomenon that afflicts loose sediments in an earthquake and is akin to a lateral landslide.
Will Grant
North America correspondent
The US geological survey reports that an initial 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the state of Carabobo, some 20km from the capital, Caracas.
It was immediately followed by another main shock, which was registered at 7.5 magnitude.
The twin seismic events caused building to sway and residents to take to the streets in fear.
Videos posted to social media show some buildings have been cracked, badly damaged or collapsed and thousands of residents remain too worried about aftershocks to return to their apartments.
The country’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, confirmed on state television that some buildings had collapsed.
The tremor was felt as far away as the Colombian capital, Bogota.
The extent of the damage still isn’t completely clear as the Venezuelan authorities continue to assess the worst affected areas.
María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace prize winner and opposition leader of Venezuela, has issued a statement in the aftermath of the earthquake.
"My heart, my infinite embrace, and my prayers are with every Venezuelan home in these hours of anguish," she writes in a post on X.
"May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult moment," she continues, adding "may God protect every Venezuelan, our families, and our homes. Today, more united than ever".
More pictures are coming in showing the devastation in parts of the capital.
Image source, EPAA motorcyclist rides past debris in Caracas.
Image source, Getty ImagesRescue workers and police officers work at the site of a collapsed building following the earthquake.
Image source, Getty ImagesA Bancaribe bank building collapsed during the earthquake.
Image source, Getty ImagesTwo police officers evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building.
"Several walls in my building broke open or cracks formed," one witness tells Reuters.
Another witness, Coro Martinez, who lives in eastern Caracas describes a "very loud crash" to the news agency.
"Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I've never experienced anything like it," the 56-year-old says.
Pensioner Maria Romero compares the earthquake to the deadly 1967 natural disaster in Caracas, saying this one was "even worse".
Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America and Caribbean editor
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello tells state television that a number of Venezuelan states have been affected by the quake.
"There was a seismic event, everything indicates that it had a magnitude much greater than seven," he said speaking via phone to VTV.
“It has been strongly felt in Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Aragua, Miranda, Caracas and La Guaira.”
He adds that in the capital, Caracas, the neighbourhoods of Palos Grandes and Altamira were worst hit.
A second earthquake with a 7.5-magnitude has struck Venezuela about 39 seconds after a 7.2 quake rattled the region.
The tremor's epicentre was 23km southeast of Yumare and about 10km deep, according to the US Geological Survey.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images.Residents filled the streets after the quake reduced buildings to ruins.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesRescue workers search the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela's capital
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockPeople gather on the streets of Caracas after evacuating buildings.
A strong earthquake has struck Venezuela, destroying buildings in the capital of Caracas.
Witnesses say they felt tremors from the 7.1 magnitude quake as far as neighbouring Colombia, according to the Reuters news agency.
The quake struck the area of Montalbán at a depth of 13.2km at 18:04 local time (23:04 BST), according to the US Geological Survey (USGC).
A tsunami warning was issued for Venezuela, the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands by the US Tsunami Warning System but has now been cancelled.
Stay with us as we learn more.