Venezuela Earthquake Killed More Than 6,300 as Shallow Quakes Leveled La Guaira Buildings
Twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, killing over 6,300 people with the worst destruction in the coastal state of La Guaira, where soft soil amplified damage to buildings and left families searching for survivors and victims. The Venezuela earthquake produced two main shocks that registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 at shallow depths of less than 20 km along a strike-slip fault. [4]
Overview of the June 24 Twin Earthquakes
The twin quakes registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 at shallow depths of less than 20 km along a strike-slip fault, making them far more destructive than deeper events; the second larger quake was classified by the USGS as triggered by the first as a foreshock. [4] The events occurred on separate fault systems from Colombia’s August 10 magnitude-7.4 quake, which was deeper at around 100 km on the Nazca-South American subduction zone and thus produced less intense surface shaking despite its strength. [4] [5] In La Guaira, buildings in areas such as Los Corales and the Mision Vivienda complex collapsed. [2] The Venezuela earthquake left over 6,300 people dead according to joint statements from political representatives. [3]
Why the Quakes Proved So Deadly in La Guaira
The twin quakes registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 at shallow depths of less than 20 km along a strike-slip fault, making them far more destructive than deeper events; the second larger quake was classified by the USGS as triggered by the first as a foreshock. [4] Venezuela’s coastal area of La Guaira, built on soft, loose soil, was hard hit in June. [4] The depth of the epicenter in Colombia’s quake sent tremors as far as Panama, but gave energy more room to dissipate, averting a far worse disaster. [4] Informal housing or poor investment in engineering can be devastating when quakes hit densely-populated cities. [4] Major earthquakes can often also cause aftershocks, a grave risk for those returning to structures damaged by the first impact. [4]
Venezuelan migrants identify earthquake victims via video call during long-distance mourning. — Source: elpais
Rescue Efforts and Community Response
Neighbors rescue survivors. [2] Crismar Chacín’s case is similar. She has lived in Los Angeles since 2021 after receiving a scholarship to The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. [2] Rescuers didn’t reach the building until the next day, and at that time they were prioritizing rescue only where signs of life could be heard: “They were neighbors trying to save people with their bare hands. My uncle set off on a trip from Catia La Mar to Los Corales because the police had ordered people not to enter the buildings, but my uncle said he would go in. That’s how they found Cristian and other neighbors on Friday, June 26,” she explains. [2] However, they couldn’t recover him then and had to pour lime on the body to preserve it. [2] “The third floor ended up at ground level and all the weight of the building was on our relatives. So it wasn’t possible to get them out without the proper help, which arrived four days later thanks to the Mexican search-and-rescue teams,” she explains. [2] That is why Liz highlights the sense of community she experienced at that moment: “The worst happened in La Guaira, and the only reason my nephews are alive is because there was a community in that moment. The only one who can save you when there’s no power, no water, no internet, is the person who loves you,” she says. [2]
Long-Distance Mourning by Venezuelan Migrants
Norellys Marrero left a copy of the book Life by Paulo Coelho on her daughter Liz’s bedside table the day before she left Los Angeles. [2] Two months later, Norellys died alongside her other daughter and her son-in-law in La Guaira during the double earthquake of June 24 in Venezuela. [2] Liz experienced the tragedy over a video call. [2] From Los Angeles, the dancer contacted motorbike couriers in La Guaira to check the condition of the building; she also called her aunt Maribel, who lost her car and house but still went to help with rescue efforts. [2] Liz was even shown her sister’s corpse’s hands over video so she could identify them. [2] “But why would I identify hands? I wanted to see my sister’s whole body, which was found under her husband. I think they were still alive and, with the strength they had left, pushed their son so he could get out, because they were found with their arms pushed up and Samuel was on top of them,” Liz describes. [2] Her nephews survived. Sebastián, 16, was at Macuto beach celebrating the San Juan festival and watched everything collapse around him. [2] Samuel, 11, was trapped with his family but a tourist rescued him 24 hours later after seeing his head protruding from the rubble. [2] Samuel now has four fractures and facial paralysis. [2] “He’s in the hospital, still in a very delicate state. He can’t speak, can’t move his face, needs speech therapy and occupational therapy, and is being treated by physiotherapists, neurosurgeons and intensive care specialists. A nurse is with him around the clock, and he can’t be discharged because when they tried, he had seizures,” Liz explains. [2] She was the one who figured out how to tell her other nephew that his parents had died. [2] Since then, her nephews have been in the custody of their paternal grandfather, while Liz has organized a GoFundMe campaign to support their future as professional baseball players. [2] Crismar faces a long wait for legal status in the United States, which prevents her from leaving the country to be with her mother, who is now alone. [2] Liz, meanwhile, is waiting for permanent residency in the United States and the process does not allow her to leave the country. [2] “But the moment my green card is resolved, which should be in a couple of months, I’ll be flying to Venezuela to see my nephews,” she says. [2]
Rescue workers search for survivors in rubble after twin earthquakes struck La Guaira Venezuela. — Source: france24
Political Agreement on Recovery Funding
Venezuela's interim government and opposition representatives on Wednesday wrapped up a first round of talks aimed at reconciling the nation following the US ouster of longtime leader Nicolas Maduro. [3] A joint statement issued by the two sides highlighted agreement on two topics after several days of discussion: reforming the judiciary, and seeking access to frozen funds to aid in earthquake recovery efforts. [3] Both sides committed to "initiate a process that contributes to the transformation of the justice system", including "Reforms to the Organic Law" of Venezuela's top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ). [3] In light of the devastating twin earthquakes on June 24, which have left over 6,300 people dead, both sides also agreed to work towards the release of "Venezuela's international reserve assets held at the Bank of England". [3] The joint statement also called for the establishment of "mechanisms for transparency, traceability, and auditing" to make sure the funds are properly used. [3] Interim president Delcy Rodriguez's government was represented at the talks by her brother Jorge Rodriguez, who is also the head of Venezuela's National Assembly. [3] The opposition was meanwhile represented by Dinorah Figuera, leader of the political bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly. [3]
Tectonic Context Relative to Regional Events
Colombia and Venezuela sit on the boundaries of several moving tectonic plates, whose slow, constant friction creates a build-up of energy that is periodically released, causing an earthquake. [4] German Prieto, a geologist at the National University of Colombia (UNAL), told Reuters that Colombia’s quake involved the Nazca plate sliding beneath the South American plate far beneath under the earth’s crust, which is just about 40 kilometres deep in the Andean region. [4] The US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude of Monday’s quake at 7.4, striking at a depth of 100 km, versus the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes of Venezuela’s late June quakes, at a shallower depth of less than 20 km. [4] The phenomenon of the subducción explains why this earthquake is not connected directly with the two that affected Venezuela on June 24. [5] “In Venezuela and Colombia we share the South American Plate and the Caribbean Plate, but the connection between the earthquakes is very indirect,” said Feliciano de Santis, president of the Venezuelan Society of Geologists. [5] “One cannot say that every time it trembles in Venezuela then it will tremble there,” although the two countries are part of an entire interconnected system of plates. [5] In Venezuela, there exists a different fault system. [5] “The system in Colombia is deeper.” [5]
What to watch next: Both sides committed to initiate a process that contributes to the transformation of the justice system, including reforms to the Organic Law of Venezuela's top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.
