Venezuela was hit by its most powerful earthquake since 1900 on Tuesday night, adding to the turmoil wreaked by the country's economic crisis.

Cars were flattened by collapsing walls, supermarket shelves completely wiped out and gaping holes in the ground emerged all over the country as the tremors ripped through its major cities.

The earthquake's epicenter shook eastern Venezuela but also caused problems in Colombia and Trinidad, causing buildings to be evacuated as far away as Bogata.

The quake was placed at a 7.3 magnitude with its epicentre being 13 miles southwest of Irapa in the north of Venezuela, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

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A powerful earthquake shook eastern Venezuela, causing buildings to be evacuated in the capital of Caracas

People evacuate homes after an earthquake struck the northern coast of Venezuela, in Caracas

A video showing the above damage was posted on a Trinidad weather centre Twitter account with the caption: 'Damage reported across Trinidad, video taken at Digicel IMAX, Port of Spain'

This image shows the damage caused by the earthquake to a restaurant in Trinidad

Experts have long warned that Venezuela's cash-strapped government is ill-prepared to deal with a major natural disaster.

Hospitals have scant supplies, many ambulances are grounded and food and water are among goods that have disappeared in a country suffering from inflation estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 1 million percent this year.

In the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, office workers evacuated buildings and people fled homes in fear.

Residents and office workers in Caracas fled from their buildings and homes.

At a shopping center, a woman caught in the panic of people rushing out of the building fell on an escalator and injured herself.

In downtown Caracas, concrete from the unfinished Tower of David office building fell to the sidewalk, creating a potentially lethal hazard.

A block away, children wearing surgical masks stretched their neck toward the 620-foot building after having fled a nearby foundation for poor children suffering from cancer.

This still shows the extent of the damage caused by the quake in a supermarket in Trinidad

‘We felt something strong and they told everyone to run,’ said Marisela Lopez, who was at the foundation with her 7-year-old daughter when the quake struck.

Venezuelan state media caught the confusion on camera as Diosdado Cabello, the head of the all-powerful constitutional assembly, was delivering a speech at a march.

Footage captured at the scene shows people shouting 'quake' as Cabello and others looked side-to-side for cover.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said that so far there were no reports of fatalities.

Shocks from the earthquake were felt as far away as Colombia's capital Bogotá, where authorities briefly closed the international airport to inspect for runway damage.

While videos from Trinidad showed terrified customers leaving stores as products fell from shelves.

The earthquake struck at 5:31pm local time on Tuesday and was 76 miles deep.

A similar-sized quake in the same area left dozens dead in 1997.

Power outages were reported across nearby Trinidad, where people ran into the street and gasped as large glass panes at one supermarket shattered and falling concrete smashed several cars.

The quake has been placed at a 7.3 magnitude with its epicentre being 13 miles southwest of Irapa, the U.S. Geological Survey says

People stand on the street after hearing an earthquake alarm in Bogota, Colombia

In the Venezuelan capital office workers evacuated buildings and people fled homes

The earthquake also was felt in Guyana, Barbados and Grenada.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said that disaster relief teams had been activated but so far there were no reports of fatalities.

'We ask for the greatest patience and tranquility from the Venezuelan people,' he said in a televised address. 'These situations require prudence.'

It was initially reported as a magnitude 6.7 and then 7.0, and was centered near the town of Carupano.

A magnitude 7.3 quake is considered major and is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage.

But seismologist Lucy Jones, a research associate with the California Institute of Technology, said the earthquake's considerable depth likely prevented a tragedy.

‘Shaking does die off at a distance,’ she said, adding that the depth of the quake means there are likely to be fewer aftershocks.

John Boquett, a firefighter captain in Caracas, said there were no initial reports of injuries or major damage in the capital.

Joan Latchman, a seismologist with The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said it was the strongest earthquake felt in Trinidad since December 2016.

She said there were seven aftershocks within an hour of the quake, and that more were expected.

The 7.3 quake was the largest to strike Venezuela since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake is larger than the devastating tremor which rocked Haiti in 2010.

Up to 300,000 people were killed when a 7.0 magnitude tremor rocked the Caribbean nation.

People gather in the street after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, as they try to ring their family and friends