Venezuela’s Disastrous Earthquakes

A crisis has hit the Venezuelans. On June 24th, two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela. According to Florida International University (FIU), thousands have died, and several thousand were injured in these earthquakes. “This event occurs because of the motion of two plates: stress becomes so great that it overcomes the friction holding the two sides of the fault together, and the fault slips,” said Dr. Dean Whitman, a PhD at FIU. Aleks Phillips, a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter, stated that the earthquakes caused widespread damage to homes and buildings in parts of the country.

According to FIU, these earthquakes, called doublets, are very unusual. The same two plates, the Caribbean plate and the South American plate, caused both of the earthquakes, and they occurred only 1 minute apart! Phillips said that the first earthquake’s magnitude was 7.2, and the second had a magnitude of 7.5. Phillip also stated that the second quake did most of the destruction. According to News For Kids, the shaking was felt more than 100 miles away, reaching La Guaira, Caracas, Valencia, Puerto Cabello, and Caraballeda. Phillips also stated that some high buildings had been damaged, such as the Eduard’s Hotel. The BBC posted the before-and-after pictures. Before: a lovely and shining hotel; after: a view with only the hotel entrance not wrecked, and rubble sitting on top and to the side of the structure!

According to The Guardian, more than 58,000 buildings were destroyed in the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela. European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites and researchers at Oregon State University have concluded that “approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region”.

On June 24, 2026, Venezuela was struck by a doublet earthquake, resulting in the wreckage of more than 58,000 buildings and the loss of thousands of lives! From the Eduard’s Hotel to the other buildings that were wrecked, the disastrous Venezuela earthquakes are unforgettable.