Rubio says U.S. sending help to Venezuela after devastating twin earthquakes rattle country

People huddle together in the streets of El Junquito, Venezuela as buildings collapse around them.

Two powerful earthquakes that occurred about a minute apart rocked parts of Venezuela on Wednesday, killing more than 160 and leaving nearly 1,000 wounded. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the U.S. was mobilizing aid to the country, a little more than six months after the U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolas Maduro and brought him to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges.

Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's vice president whois now serving as the country's interim president, said dozens of buildings had been toppled and northern Venezuela, where the capital city of Caracas, was hit especially hard. The second quake, measured at magnitude-7.5, was the most powerful earthquake to strike Venezuela in 126 years, according to AFP. Officials expect the death toll to climb as search and rescue efforts expand. 

Terrifying videos posted on social media showed buildings crumbling into the streets of El Junquito and screaming people running for their lives as the powerful earthquake shook the region. The quakes caused widespread power outages and people reportedly spent the night searching in the dark for survivors. 

"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," President Trump posted on Truth Social late Wednesday evening as news of the disaster made its way around the world. 

Speaking with reporters on Thursday in Bahrain, where he was meeting with leaders in the Middle East about Iran peace negotiations, Rubio said the U.S. had quickly mobilized aid for Venezuela.

"We're already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles. There will be some others we'll add. That's their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts," Rubio said, noting the high number of collapsed buildings with survivors presumed to be trapped beneath rubble.

"They'll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that. The airport there is badly damaged, so we'll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there. And then we're also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don't have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been," the secretary of state added.

Rubio also said several other countries had already stepped up with offers to contribute aid, including Qatar, El Salvador and Chile. Watch a portion of Rubio's remarks below.