Venezuela struck by back-to-back earthquakes, many casualties feared
US Geological Survey says high casualties ‘probable’ after powerful quakes hit South American country.
The quakes levelled buildings in the capital, Caracas, Venezuela, June 24, 2026 [Juan Barreto/AFP]
Venezuela has been struck by powerful back-to-back earthquakes, levelling buildings in the capital, Caracas, and prompting fears of mass casualties.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck near San Felipe, about 284km (176 miles) west of Caracas, at 22:04 GMT on Wednesday, followed almost immediately by a magnitude 7.5 quake near Yumare, about 293km (182 miles) west of the capital, the US Geological Survey said.
Footage posted on social media by Wilmer Azuaje, an elected representative for Barinas State, showed falling debris and people running for cover at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas.
“The stairs came away, the whole wall cracked,” the AFP news agency quoted Odalis Escalona, a 54-year-old bank employee in Caracas, as saying. “Things fell from the ceiling. It was horrible.”
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