Two major earthquakes strike northern Venezuela, damaging buildings and triggering emergency response

The total number of deaths and injuries was not yet clear as of Wednesday evening. Earlier modeling by USGS of the 7.5-magnitude earthquake estimated possible deaths in the thousands to tens of thousands, with economic losses reaching billions to tens of billions of dollars, according to seismologist Paul Earle. The agency also forecast a 40% chance that a magnitude 6 or larger earthquake will strike the same region within the next week, with near-certainty of an aftershock of at least magnitude 5.

State of emergency and official response

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency and said several Venezuelan states had sustained damage. She also called for unity, and urged "our population to remain calm." Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television that "[s]ome buildings have been brought down [in Caracas], houses have collapsed," and that protocols were being followed to gather more information.

Social media images and video showed leveled buildings, people running for safety, and falling debris from structural damage at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, which has been closed since the earthquakes. Emergency workers were shown climbing into the ruins of a collapsed building in the capital as night began to fall. USGS noted that significant aftershocks are likely in the coming days.

Eyewitness accounts and a holiday disrupted

Coro Martinez, a 56-year-old resident of eastern Caracas, described the shaking from her home. "There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I've never experienced anything like it," she said. Many Venezuelans were at home when the earthquake struck because they were observing a public holiday commemorating an 1821 military victory that secured independence from Spain.

Global seismic activity on the same day

Tsunami warnings previously issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were recalled, with no advisory in effect as of Wednesday night. The seismic activity was not limited to the Caribbean: a 5.6-magnitude quake struck Northern California earlier on Wednesday, and about a half-hour after the Venezuela events, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Japan. No major damage was reported from either of those quakes.

Earle explained the scientific challenge of measuring such closely spaced events. "When the earthquakes are this close together in time," he said, "it can be difficult to unravel the exact magnitudes and the exact locations, especially for the second event," because the signals on seismograms overlap. He added: "This doesn't happen very often. When they're right together it's hard to understand what would happen."