Several strong earthquakes strike globally in 1 day How are they connected

Officials in Venezuela have confirmed more than 180 people were killed in those two powerful earthquakes. The frantic search for survivors is now underway. Some Bay Area residents are still waiting to hear from their loved ones. ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter Luz Pena spoke to some of them as well as some people in Venezuela. Luz. Yes, Ama and JR. The United Nations confirmed more than 100 buildings collapsed in La Guaira, a coastal state north of the capital Venezuela, Caracas. According to the Venezuelan government, there are thousands of unaccounted individuals with more than 200 people trapped in the rubble. Within 40 seconds of each other, two of the most devastating earthquakes in Venezuela's history sent shockwaves and panic through the capital city of Caracas Wednesday afternoon. And, you know, we ran to a square nearby and like 100, 200 people concentrated there. And we were watching buildings, parts of buildings falling off. And two blocks from where I was, two buildings went down. Carlos Manuel Diaz documented the cracks throughout his building. Luz, as you can see. And showed us outside where many of his neighbors are now leaving their vehicles. Ready to leave as dozens of aftershocks continue to hit the region. 32 smaller ones, you know, like an hour ago there was one that was strong, but not as bad as the one yesterday. Venezuela's interim president declared a state of emergency as search and rescue teams from Los Angeles and Virginia had to help pull people out of the rubble. This is what they trained for. It's very specific. They work with dogs. They work with structural engineers. We spoke to one of the founding members of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force that deploys trained firefighters to disaster zones. They know every minute is crucial to find people alive. 24 hours. Most disasters, specifically earthquakes, have about an 80% chance of survival. And then if you get into the second day, it drops down to about 36%. In the Bay Area, Elaine Agrozone is hoping her family members are found alive. We've been trying to reach her since yesterday. She doesn't answer. Her husband doesn't answer either. We're hoping that the reason why they haven't reached out is because they don't have signal. USGS estimates the death toll in Venezuela will likely go over 1,000 people and potentially could exceed 10,000. U.S. search and rescue teams are set to land in Venezuela in the coming hours. I'm Emma. JR.