A pair of powerful earthquakes have rocked Venezuela. They tore down buildings, closed the country’s main airport and sent panicked residents of the capital pouring into the streets.

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas said it is closely monitoring the aftermath of the earthquakes in Venezuela and urged American citizens in the country to follow updates through the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

The U.S. Geological Survey warned that “high casualties and damage are probable" after the temblors that were among the strongest to hit the country in the past century.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes left at least 164 dead and hundreds missing, the authorities said, but the full scale of the damage was not immediately clear.

Global Empowerment Mission is expected to begin shipping aid to Venezuela starting Thursday after deadly back-to-back earthquakes.

Two earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, occurred seconds apart, around 160 miles west of Venezuela's capital, Caracas.

Venezuela’s northern coast was hit by two powerful earthquakes within a minute of each other on Wednesday – the largest to hit the country in more than a century.