Venezuela’s quakes were the strongest in over a century

Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in earthquakes that struck the previous day in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Published [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] On the evening of June 24, two earthquakes struck in quick succession in northern Venezuela, around 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of the capital Caracas. Thousands of people have been reported injured, more than 1,450 have been killed according to the government. relief organizations say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster is the most crucial time period for rescues, though survival can be extended if people have access to food and water. The doublet earthquakes – one magnitude 7.2 and the other 7.5 – rank as some of Venezuela’s strongest.Here’s a rundown of Venezuela’s recent seismic activity and how Wednesday’s quakes stack up historically to other major seismic incidents in the region and across the globe:The earthquakes violently shook the region seismic activity typically clusters along the restless edges of Earth’s tectonic plates.Of the millions of earthquakes since 1900, just over 500 reached a magnitude of 7.5 There have been nearly 60 earthquakes in the Venezuelan region with a strength of 6.0 magnitude or more since 1900. Half of the region’s strongest quakes struck within the last eight years Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, issued a state of emergency for the country and said the government was in the process of creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes, while international aid from across the globe was being sent to help.