Two powerful earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela in rapid succession on Wednesday, collapsing buildings in Caracas and triggering tsunami warnings across the Caribbean.
The U.S. Geological Survey rated the back-to-back quakes at magnitudes 7.1 and 7.5, making them among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. The agency warned that high casualties and extensive damage were “probable.”
The first quake’s epicentre was west of Morón, a coastal community roughly 168 kilometres from Caracas, at a depth of 13 kilometres. The second, larger quake followed within a minute, centred about 16 kilometres southwest of the same location at a depth of 10 kilometres. Tremors were felt as far away as neighbouring Colombia.
The timing compounded the disruption. Many Venezuelans were home celebrating a public holiday marking the country’s 1821 independence victory when the shaking began, sending residents rushing into streets already losing power and internet connectivity. Footage circulating on social media showed falling debris and people fleeing at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas.
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A tsunami threat was issued covering Puerto Rico along with both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, with authorities also flagging the possibility of hazardous waves reaching Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire off Venezuela’s coast.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello described “alarming situations” in Caracas’s Altamira neighbourhood, where homes and buildings had collapsed. He urged residents to stay outside as aftershocks remained a risk to already-damaged structures, and asked motorists to clear roads for emergency vehicles.
“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello said on state television.
Witnesses described severe structural damage well beyond the capital. A resident in Valencia, to Caracas’s west, told Reuters that walls throughout their building had cracked or broken open. In Caracas, one resident reported cracks running up the side of an apartment building and shattered glass in the entryway. An 80-year-old pensioner who required police assistance to evacuate described it as worse than the 1967 earthquake that killed hundreds. La Guaira, the coastal city near the capital, also sustained significant destruction.
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