The earthquake was also felt in the capital Caracas (archive image).Image: www.imago-images.de
June 25, 2026, 01:20June 25, 2026, 02:10
In less than a minute, two very strong earthquakes shook Venezuela. The US Earthquake Observatory USGS gave the magnitude of the tremors as 7.2 and 7.5. Accordingly, the earthquakes were among the strongest in the world this year. The second and stronger earthquake occurred at a depth of only 10 kilometers, which is why major damage and possibly victims were to be expected.
“We are dealing with an extremely alarming situation,” said Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on television. Some buildings collapsed. He called on people to get to safety. Videos of damaged buildings and damage, including at the Caracas airport, circulated on social networks.
“Several walls in my house have cracked or cracked,” says an eyewitness who lives west of the capital. told Reuters.
Minister warns of aftershocks
After severe earthquakes, aftershocks are usually expected that could cause already damaged buildings to collapse, the minister warned. To prevent explosions, the authorities ordered the gas supply to be cut off.
The epicenter of the first quake on Wednesday at 6:04 p.m. (local time; 00:04 CEST Thursday) was reportedly 24 kilometers east of San Felipe in the northwest of the South American country at a depth of 21.9 kilometers. The second earthquake occurred just a few kilometers further north. According to USGS data, just over 400,000 people live in the relatively close cities of Puerto Cabello and San Felipe alone. (sda/dpa/ome)