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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Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in the Coquimbo Region of Chile.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake at a depth of 36.9 km, roughly 32 km to the southwest of the city of Ovale in Limari Province, part of the Atacama Coquimbo of Chile, slightly before 10.35 am local time (slightly before 1.35 pm GMT) on Thursday 12 February 2026. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far away as Santiago, 400 km to the south.

The location of the 12 February 2026 Coquimbo Earthquake. USGS.

Chile is located on the west coast of South America, which is also the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American Plates. The Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate and is sinking beneath the South American Plate. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks deeper it is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying South American Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of the Chilean Andes.

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

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Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake in the Atacama Region of Chile

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake at a depth of 76.6 km, roughly 52 km to the southwest of the city of Diego de Almagro in Chañaral Province, in the Atacama Region of Chile, at about 1.15 pm local time (about 5.15 pm GMT) on Friday 6 June 2025. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far suth as Santiago, 900 km to the south.

The location of the 6 June 2025 Atacama Earthquake. USGS.

Chile is located on the west coast of South America, which is also the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American Plates. The Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate and is sinking beneath the South American Plate. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks deeper it is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying South American Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of the Chilean Andes.

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.

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Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake in Eduardo Abaroa Province, Bolivia.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake at a depth of 223 km in Eduardo Abaroa Province, Bolivia, slightly before  6.40 am local time (slightly before 10.40 am on Thursday 5 September 2024. Quakes at this depth are seldom dangerous, but are often felt over a wide area, and this one was reportedly felt on the coast of northern Chile.

The approximate location of the 5 September 2024 Eduardo Abaroa Province Earthquake. USGS.

Bolivia is located close to the west coast of South America, which is also the convergent margin between the Nazca and South American Plates. The Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate and is sinking beneath the South American Plate. This is not a smooth process, the rocks of the two plates continuously stick together then, as the pressure builds up, break apart again, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks deeper it is partially melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying South American Plate as magma, fuelling the volcanoes of the Bolivian Andes. 

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Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake off the north coast of the Paria Peninsula, Venezuela.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 87.4 km, slightly  off the  north coast of the Paria Peninsula on the north coast of Venezuela, slightly before midnight on Sunday 23  June 2024 local time (slightly before 4.00 am on Monday 24 June GMT). This was a large quake, but at some depth as well as offshore, and there are no reports of any casualties or damage, though the quake was felt over a large area, with people reporting feeling it across much of northern Venezuela, and northeastern Guyana as well as on the Caribbean islands of  Trinidad, Granada, St Vincent.

The approximate location of the 24 June 2024 Paria Peninsula Earthquake. USGS.

The Paria Peninsula forms part of the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate, which is moving eastward compared to the South American Plate, upon which the rest of Venezuela sits. This is not a smooth process, the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes in the process. 

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Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake in Colombia results in at least one death.

The Colombian National Geological Service recorded a Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake at a depth of 30.0 km, beneath the town of El Calvario in Meta Department, about 90 km to the northeast of Bogatá, slightly before 12.05 pm local time on Thursday 27 August 2023 (slightly after 5.05 pm GMT). There are no reports of any damage associated with this event, though a woman is reported to have died while trying to evacuate a 10 story building in Bogatá.

The approximate location of the 17 August 2023 Colombia Earthquake. USGS.

Colombia is on the west coast of South America and the western margin of the South American Plate, close to where the Nazca Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific, is being subducted along the Peru-Chile Trench. The Nazca Plate passes under the South American Plate as it sinks into the Earth, this is not a smooth process and the plates repeatedly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks further it is partially melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of this melted material then rises through the overlying South American Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of Colombia and neighbouring countries.

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. SIO SEARCH.

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