Twin earthquakes near Caracas kill at least 32, officials say
Two major quakes struck northern Venezuela less than a minute apart, damaging Caracas and prompting a state of emergency.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
2 min read
Two powerful earthquakes hit northern Venezuela on Wednesday evening, killing at least 32 people and injuring 700, according to acting President Delcy Rodríguez. The back-to-back shocks damaged buildings in Caracas and triggered emergency measures across several states.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake, measured at magnitude 7.2, struck at about 6 p.m. Eastern time and was followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 quake in the same area. The agency placed the epicenters near Morón, a Caribbean coast town about 100 miles west of Caracas, and estimated they were roughly 3 miles apart.
USGS seismologist Paul Earle said quakes that occur so close together can be hard to assess quickly because their seismic signals overlap. He said that can complicate estimates of the exact magnitudes and locations, especially for the second event.
Images and videos shared on social media showed collapsed structures, people fleeing into streets and debris falling at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas. The airport later closed, according to NPR.
Rodríguez declared a state of emergency Wednesday night and said multiple Venezuelan states had been damaged. She urged unity and called on “our population to remain calm.”
The USGS described the pair of quakes as a “doublet.” The agency said the stronger of the two was Venezuela’s largest earthquake since 1900, when a magnitude 7.7 quake struck the country.
The full scale of casualties and damage remained uncertain Wednesday night. Earle said USGS modeling for the magnitude 7.5 quake projected deaths could reach the thousands to tens of thousands, with financial losses running from billions to tens of billions of dollars.
Aftershocks are expected in the affected region. Earle said USGS forecasts showed a 40% chance of a magnitude 6 or stronger quake in the area over the next week, along with what he described as an “almost certainty” of at least one magnitude 5 quake.
Tsunami warnings that had been issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were withdrawn, and no advisory remained in effect Wednesday night.
The Venezuela quakes came during a day of other seismic activity, according to the USGS. A magnitude 6.9 quake struck off Japan’s east coast about 30 minutes later, and a magnitude 5.6 quake hit Northern California earlier Wednesday. No major damage was reported from either of those quakes.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.