Horrifying video from the streets of El Junquito, Venezuela shows buildings crumbling like matchsticks into clouds of choking, brown smoke after a pair of violent earthquakes devastated the country.
A chorus of screams and thunderous crashes of destruction hauntingly echo in the background of the footage, which looks like something straight out of a big-budget disaster movie.
Frightened families can be seen fleeing for their lives in the streets, many of them holding children’s hands and crying.
A pair of devastating earthquakes hit Venezuela Wednesday, causing widespread destruction and killing at least 164 people so far, officials said. AP Photo/Pedro Mattey
People stand before damaged homes following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, some 30 kilometers north-west of Caracas, on June 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. AP Photo/Pedro Mattey
A woman walks past a building damaged during an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. AP Photo/Pedro MatteyErick Monasterios filmed himself navigating the chaotic scene as he frantically searched for his mother.
Car alarms blare as he turns his camera on piles of rubble, throngs of people huddled together in terror, and rows of motorcycles tipped on their side.
El Junquito, with a population of around 70,000, is about 12 miles outside Caracas.
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The twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes have so far killed at least 164 people, Venezuelan authorities said, with hundreds more reported missing as rescue crews desperately search for survivors.
The twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes were the biggest temblors to hit the region in over a century. AFP via Getty Images
Entire buildings were reduced to rubble in the violent quakes, which struck just 39 seconds apart. SOCIAL MEDIA via REUTERSThe first quake struck roughly 100 miles west of Caracas, followed just 39 seconds later by an even bigger 7.5-magnitude tremblor, according to the US Geological Survey, which warned the death toll could climb to at least 10,000 and potentially more than 100,000.
The quakes were the strongest to hit the region in over a century.
An injured woman walks in La Guaira a day after an earthquake struck the area, on June 25, 2026. AP Photo/Pedro Mattey
A man inspects a collapsed apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, on June 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
People stand before damaged apartment buildings following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, on Thursday. AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Trump took to Truth Social early Thursday pledging help to the quake-ravaged country.
“The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. WE will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!” he wrote.
