Venezuela has declared a national state of emergency after a powerful earthquake doublet struck the country's northwestern coast, leaving at least 32 people dead, more than 700 injured and causing widespread destruction in Caracas and surrounding regions.

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced the emergency measures yesterday, mobilising health workers, suspending school classes and ordering a military-led rescue operation as authorities raced to locate survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

According to preliminary reports, a magnitude 7.2 foreshock struck near the coastal town of Yumare, approximately 160 kilometres west of Caracas, before a stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit just 39 seconds later.