Two consecutive powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday (June 24), bringing down structures across Caracas and sparking chaos at a neighbouring airport.
According to the US Geological Survey, the initial tremor registered at magnitude 7.1, with its epicentre situated west of Morón – a community on the nation’s Caribbean coastline, roughly 104 miles west of Caracas.
The seismic event occurred at a depth of eight miles.
Shortly afterwards, the USGS confirmed an even more severe 7.5-magnitude earthquake had hit, measuring six miles deep with its epicentre positioned 10 miles southwest of Morón.
The USGS says high casualties and extensive damage are probable – with a 44% chance of more than 10,000 fatalities and a 30% chance of more than 100,000 following the second mainshock quake.
Video clips spreading across social media platforms captured terrified crowds at an airport close to the Venezuelan capital in the aftermath of the successive earthquakes. Simon Bolivar Airport in Maiquetia has sustained damage.
View 3 ImagesThe footage shows people running through a terminal at Maiquetia Airport after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Venezuela(Image: X)
Video clips spreading across social media platforms captured terrified crowds at an airport close to the Venezuelan capital in the aftermath of the successive earthquakes.
Social media accounts suggest individuals remain trapped beneath debris from collapsed structures in Falcón, Tucacas and the Los Palos Grandes district of Caracas, where search and rescue teams are understood to be actively deployed following the collapse of a multi-storey building.
Following the tremor, a tsunami advisory was put in place, warning of potentially dangerous tsunami waves along coastlines within 300 kilometres of the earthquake’s epicentre.
A tsunami warning and evacuation is currently in progress in Lomas de Urdaneta.
View 3 ImagesSevere damage was caused to buildings in Caracas(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed that the earthquake was felt throughout multiple states. He noted that in Caracas’s Altamira neighbourhood, “alarming” incidents were reported, with indications that homes and buildings had come down.
He appealed to residents to stay outside, as aftershocks are expected which could cause additional damage to certain structures.
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Wednesday’s earthquakes rank among the most powerful to have hit Venezuela in more than a hundred years.
The San Narciso earthquake in 1900 registered a magnitude of 7.6, while the 2018 Sucre earthquake measured 7.3. The tremors have been experienced in neighbouring Colombia, particularly in the Caribbean area and the country’s northeast, though no damage or casualties have been recorded.
The Colombian Maritime Authority issued a statement confirming that no tsunami warning has been declared for Colombia’s Caribbean coastline.