Two powerful earthquakes strike northern Venezuela and collapse buildings in Caracas
Key takeaways
- Acting President Delcy Rodr guez declared a state of emergency, though she did not provide figures for the injured or dead.
- The epicenter was located about 160 kilometers west of Caracas, in the north-central part of the country, at a depth of close to 13 kilometers.
- LTIMA HORA | Video muestra el momento exacto de c mo comenz el devastador terremoto en Venezuela.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, about 39 seconds apart, struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, collapsing buildings in the capital, Caracas, and leaving rescue teams working through the rubble, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Acting President Delcy Rodr guez declared a state of emergency, though she did not provide figures for the injured or dead.
The epicenter was located about 160 kilometers west of Caracas, in the north-central part of the country, at a depth of close to 13 kilometers. The USGS described both quakes as a seismic doublet, a phenomenon in which two large-magnitude earthquakes occur seconds apart in the same area. The tremor was strongly felt across several states —Carabobo, Yaracuy, Falc n, Aragua, Miranda, La Guaira and the capital itself— and sent thousands of people fleeing their homes. The US Tsunami Warning System issued a threat for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that it canceled about an hour later.
LTIMA HORA | Video muestra el momento exacto de c mo comenz el devastador terremoto en Venezuela. Las im genes fueron capturadas por una c mara de seguridad en La Pastora, Caracas. https://t.co/vVhsFVi6Mi pic.twitter.com/n0yAJ0tfn2