Before Venezuela earthquakes, engineers warned tall buildings could collapse atop soft soil
Key takeaways
- The dual quakes left a path of destruction from Caracas, the capital, to the coast and elsewhere.
- Michael Schmitz, a geophysics professor at Simón Bolívar University and Central University of Venezuela, said he feared casualties could reach 50,000 people.
- It’s still too early to draw definitive conclusions for why the damage, and death toll, were so high.
Two days after the earthquake that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, several people are searching for their missing family members among the remains of the building where they lived. (Ariana Cubillos / Associated Press) By Rong-Gong Lin II, Patrick J. Mc Donnell and Mery Mogollon June 27, 2026 2:02 PM PT 9 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
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CARACAS, Venezuela — For years, engineers analyzing Venezuela’s construction patterns have voiced a major concern: That the country’s precarious combination of soft ground soil and tall concrete structures — many lacking sufficient seismic reinforcement — could result in catastrophic destruction when a major earthquake struck.