{"id":759252,"date":"2026-06-25T02:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759252\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:07:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:07:14","slug":"venezuela-hit-by-strong-back-to-back-earthquakes-prompting-warnings-of-potentially-heavy-casualties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759252\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela hit by strong back-to-back earthquakes, prompting warnings of potentially heavy casualties"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Two strong earthquakes shook north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, collapsing buildings in the capital Caracas and prompting scientists to warn of potentially heavy casualties and \u200cwidespread destruction across the South American country. <\/p>\n

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and its epicentre was west of the community of Mor\u00f3n, located along the country’s Caribbean coast, about 168 kilometres west of Caracas. <\/p>\n

The USGS reported an even larger 7.5-magnitude earthquake just a minute later. <\/p>\n

“High casualties and extensive damage are probable, and the disaster is likely widespread,” the USGS said, initially estimating the death toll would most likely range from 10,000 to 100,000.<\/p>\n

\"EmergencyRescuers search for victims in a collapsed building following back-to-back earthquakes in Caracas Wednesday. (Manaure Quintero\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Authorities did not \u200bimmediately provide official estimates for deaths or injuries.<\/p>\n

“We have buildings, homes and houses which \u200bhave collapsed, and we are taking care of things with everything we have available in terms of security, civil assistance,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television. “The fire department, police all have been activated.” <\/p>\n

PHOTOS | Aftermath of two earthquakes:<\/p>\n

In Chacao, an eastern Caracas municipality, Mayor Gustavo Duque told broadcaster Globovision that two structures had collapsed, 16 people \u2060were injured and that there were deaths, too, though he \u2060gave no figure for fatalities.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to do everything we can to rescue the \u200cmost people possible,” he said. <\/p>\n

The quakes are among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. <\/p>\n

\"ARescue workers carry a person on a stretcher out of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on Wednesday. The 7.2-magnitude quake was followed by a stronger 7.5-magnitude earthquake. (Juan Barreto\/AFP\/Getty Images)Tsunami warning cancelled<\/p>\n

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued \u200ba tsunami threat \u2060for Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands following the earthquake, adding that islands off the coast of Venezuela \u2014 Aruba, Cura\u00e7ao and Bonaire \u2014 could also be hit by hazardous waves. The warning was withdrawn about an hour later. <\/p>\n

Many Venezuelans were at home when \u200bthe quake hit, celebrating a public holiday commemorating an 1821 military victory that secured the country’s independence from \u200bSpain.<\/p>\n

Residents in Caracas rushed to evacuate as the \u2060first quake shook buildings.<\/p>\n

\"PeopleEmergency services work at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas. (Gaby Oraa\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

Maria Romero, \u2060an 80-year-old pensioner living on \u200cthe south side of Caracas, said that police helped her evacuate from her building. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she added.<\/p>\n

Many residents in Caracas lost power or internet service right after the quake.<\/p>\n

At Caracas’ Hospital de Clinicas, staff were asked \u2060to double up on the night shift to help treat the injured, a worker there said. Video filmed at the hospital showed a darkened hallway with ceiling panels hanging \u2060by cables \u2060and pieces of plaster scattered across the floor.<\/p>\n

\"EmergencyRescuers search for victims in a collapsed building following the back-to-back quakes. (Manaure Quintero\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

One witness said cracks had formed up the side of their apartment and that glass \u200bin the entryway had shattered. Power went down shortly after, the witness said.<\/p>\n

“Several walls in my building broke open or cracks formed,” a \u2060witness in Valencia, to the west of Caracas, told \u2060Reuters. “As soon \u2060as it stopped [shaking], \u200bmy husband and I evacuated [the building].”<\/p>\n

Venezuela’s interior minister said the quake could be felt in several states, adding that the Altamira neighbourhood in Caracas had “alarming situations” with collapsed homes and buildings. Cabello urged people to remain outside as aftershocks could further damage some structures.<\/p>\n

\"AMunicipal police officers evacuate an injured victim from a collapsed building following two strong earthquakes in Caracas Wednesday. (Juan Berreto\/AFP\/Getty Images)\"PeoplePeople react as they gather after an earthquake, in on Wednesday. A second, stronger quake hit the same region a short time later. (Gaby Oraa\/Reauters)<\/p>\n

He also suggested people were injured in the earthquake, asking motorists to clear the way for ambulances and other emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n

“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. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”<\/p>\n

Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-759252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}