DOUBLED DISASTER IN VENEZUELA

Jessie Liang Tue Jul 7th

No one expected this disaster to happen. In northern Venezuela, earthquakes are quite common. Yet, on June 24th, 2026, twin earthquakes struck the country and left thousands dead.

The first wave (temblor) hit west of the capital city of Caracas at 6:04 pm local time with a magnitude of 7.2. What caught locals off guard was the second wave. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck close by only 39 seconds after.

A magnitude of 7.2 may seem only a bit less severe than 7.5, but the results say otherwise. According to scientists, the second strike released almost three times more energy as the temblor. This, instead, makes the rupture the main shock and the temblor the “foreshock,” as the rupture created more damage. Why did this rare phenomenon happen?

As evidenced by Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at University College London in England, interviewed by the New York Times, “The ferocious seismic waves unleashed by the initial rupture may have convulsed an adjacent, locked-up section of the fault, which triggered the second quake.”

This disaster tore through the South American country and left behind more than 3,535 dead, fatal injuries, scattered families like debris, and brought destructive landslides, and more. Additionally, more than 17,000 citizens in Venezuela are currently displaced due to the loss of homes.

Currently, tens of thousands of survivors are searching for their loved ones with the help of rescue workers and military units.

extra sites used (other than nyt article):

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/south-america/venezuelas-earthquakes-death-toll-reaches-3533-survivors-look-missing-rcna353135