Powerful earthquakes rock Venezuela as death toll reaches 164 | First Thing

A woman crouches amid the rubble in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday after the earthquakes. Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA View image in fullscreen A woman crouches amid the rubble in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday after the earthquakes. Photograph: Ronald Pena R/EPA First Thing: Powerful earthquakes rock Venezuela as death toll reaches 164 Buildings collapse after double quakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude. Plus, the apartment renters facing a tide of fees Good morning. Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes that collapsed dozens of buildings, killing at least 164 people and injuring 971 more, with experts predicting the death toll could rise still further. The quakes – among the largest in Venezuela’s history – occurred in quick succession and were felt in many parts of the country. The worst destruction appeared to have taken place in and around the capital, Caracas, where videos on social media showed panic as passengers raced through the corridors of nearby Simón Bolívar international airport seeking cover from falling debris. What do we know ? The US Geological Survey (USGS) said Venezuela had been hit by two quakes: a magnitude 7.5 “mainshock” and a 7.2 “foreshock” 39 seconds earlier. “High casualties and extensive damage ⁠are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” ⁠the USGS said. How does the damage look on the ground? Rodríguez, who confirmed the death toll, said the airport had been closed after sustaining “severe damage” and added that the metro and train systems had been halted. A Guardian reporter saw at least three buildings that had collapsed in Altamira, an upmarket area of Caracas that is home to many foreign embassies, after the quakes hit shortly after 6pm on Wednesday. This is a developing story. Follow our live blog here . ‘Extremely overwhelmed’: apartment renters face rising tide of fees View image in fullscreen Renters at apartment buildings operated by Greystar complain they are deluged by ‘unfair’ and ‘inflated’ fees – which the company denies. Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty/Greystar Tenants at apartment complexes operated by Greystar, the largest owner and manager of apartments in the US, do not only pay rent. They pay a mass of fees that most other renters have never heard of. These add-ons include “boiler management fees”, “variable refrigerant flow fees”, “solar rebill” fees, even “lifestyle fees”. Tenants and lawsuits in multiple states call many of these fees inflated, illegal, predatory or overwhelming. The Guardian counted at least 125 different named fees in leases, court documents and rental listings for apartments managed by Greystar. See the full investigation here . This is what the company said: In a statement, Greystar told the Guardian it disagreed with the allegations in the court actions and was “actively defending” the cases. In various court filings, the company has called tenants’ legal compl