Powerful earthquakes slammed Venezuela on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas. The earthquakes is estimated to be five to six times larger than the quake in Haiti in 2010. 164 dead and 971 injured have been confirmed. The number of victims is expected to rise sharply. The earthquakes are some of the strongest to hit Venezuela in just over a century.
CARACAS JUNE 25: Back-to-back powerful earthquakes slammed Venezuela on Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital of Caracas and leaving residents shaken. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and its epicenter was west of the community of Morón, located along the country’s Caribbean coast, about 104 miles west of Caracas. The USGS reported an even larger 7.5-magnitude earthquake just a minute later. The earthquake is estimated to be five to six times larger than the quake in Haiti in 2010.
The affected area is densely populated. A large number of buildings have collapsed and a national state of emergency has been declared. Caracas airport has been closed after being damaged by the earthquakes. 164 dead and 971 injured have been confirmed. The number of victims is expected to rise sharply. Assessors say thousands of victims are to be expected.
The tremors occurred at 6 p.m. local time, within a minute of each other, in locations off Morón on the Venezuelan coast. Both quakes were relatively shallow. They had depths of just over 20 and 10 kilometers, respectively. More than 20 aftershocks have since hit the country, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquakes are some of the strongest to hit Venezuela in just over a century.
