<p>Chicagoan Jose Morales grew up hearing stories of the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Venzeula in 1967, just four years before he was born.</p><p>The disaster created a national memory.</p><p>Back-to-back powerful earthquakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century, slammed the country on Wednesday, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas and leaving residents β including Morales' parents β shaken up.</p><p>βItβs in the memory of everyone who is old enough,β said Morales, the vice president of the Illinois Venezuela Alliance. βAnd now this was even stronger than that one."</p><p>The U.S. Geological Survey said shortly after 6 p.m.