Northern Venezeula hit by pair of major Earthquakes, leaving at least 164 dead.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake at a depth of 20.3 km, roughly 23 km to the southeast of the town of Yumare in Yaracuy State on the north coast of Venezuela, slightly before 6.05 pm local (slightly before 10.05 pm GMT) time on Wednesday 24 June 2026. This was followed after 39 seconds by a Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake 4 km to the southeast of the original event, at a depth of 10 km. 

The approximate location of the second 24 June 2026 Yaracuy Earthquake. USGS.

At least 164 people are known to have died as a result of this event, with another 971 injured. However, more than a hundred buildings have collapsed as a result of the Earthquakes, it is thought likely that many thousands more people may be trapped or dead beneath the rubble. The worst of the damage occurred in the State of La Guaira, to the east of the epicentres of the events.

A partially collapsed apartment building in the city of Catia La Mar in the State of La Guaira, Venezuela. Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images.

The northern coast of Venezuela forms the boundary between the South American Plate, which is being pushed to the west by the expansion of the Atlantic, and the Caribbean Plate, which is also being pushed westward, but at a slower rate due to a collision with the Cocos Plate (which lies to the west of Central America). This means that the two plates are moving past one-another, creating a transform plate margin. This is not a smooth process, rather the plates constantly stick together, causing pressure to build up, then break apart in often spectacular earthquakes.

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