Older buildings and substandard construction left Venezuela vulnerable to earthquakes

Older buildings and substandard construction left Venezuela vulnerable to earthquakes 1 of 5 | Footage showed the devastation caused to homes and buildings in the Venezuelan coastal city of La Guaira after a rare double earthquake ravaged the country on Wednesday. (AP video shot by: Juan Arraez) 2 of 5 | Venezuelan police search for survivors through the rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026, two days after twin earthquake struck the country. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) 3 of 5 | Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble two days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez) 4 of 5 | A man retrieves items from the rubble two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) 5 of 5 | Rescue workers aid Daniel Cordero after pulling him from the rubble two days after an earthquake struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) 1 of 5 Footage showed the devastation caused to homes and buildings in the Venezuelan coastal city of La Guaira after a rare double earthquake ravaged the country on Wednesday. (AP video shot by: Juan Arraez) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Venezuelan police search for survivors through the rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026, two days after twin earthquake struck the country. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) 2 of 5 Venezuelan police search for survivors through the rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026, two days after twin earthquake struck the country. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 | Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble two days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez) 3 of 5 Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble two days after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 | A man retrieves items from the rubble two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) 4 of 5 A man retrieves items from the rubble two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 | Rescue workers aid Daniel Cordero after pulling him from the rubble two days after an earthquake struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) 5 of 5 Rescue workers aid Daniel Cordero after pulling him from the rubble two days after an earthquake struck Catia la Mar, Venezuela, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Older buildings, substandard construction and geography left many neighborhoods in Venezuela vulnerable to strong earthquakes like the ones that struck the country this week.Engineers and other experts said the back-to-back earthquakes on Wednesday were among the most intense to hit the country in more than a century, leveling buildings and leaving more than 900 dead with the number expected to rise. Videos and satellite imagery from the disaster zone reviewed by The Associated Press reveal scores of multistory buildings had collapsed. Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab analyzed satellite imagery of Catia la Mar in La Guaira state, one of the hardest hit cities along the Caribbean coast. Using AI-based damage assessment models, Microsoft determined that about a third of the city’s nearly 30,000 structures were damaged.Among the factors that left so many structures at risk: Some housing complexes in northern Venezuela were constructed quickly during recent oil booms, and builders may not have adhered to best practices that mitigate the risks of serious seismic activity, according to experts. Engineers said that older housing erected in the 1950s and 1960s — before modern earthquake standards were adopted — may not have been retrofitted to survive such violent shaking. And many buildings were constructed on geography and soft soils that compound the danger of the earthquakes, the experts said.