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Venezuela: Two earthquakes above magnitude 6 strike western region
Two strong earthquakes shook western Venezuela on Wednesday evening, both registering above magnitude 6 according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The tremors were felt as far as Caracas, the nation’s capital, and neighboring Colombia, though no casualties or major damages have been reported so far.
The first quake, recorded at magnitude 6.2 by the USGS, struck near Mene Grande, a small oil town in Zulia state, close to Lake Maracaibo. Venezuela’s national seismological foundation, Funvisis, reported a slightly lower magnitude of 5.4 but confirmed that no structural damage had been observed — an outcome attributed to the resilience of local construction standards, according to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
A second, stronger tremor of magnitude 6.3 occurred minutes later, just four kilometers from the initial epicenter. Residents in Caracas, Maracaibo, and cities across eastern Colombia, including Bogotá and the border town of Cúcuta, reported buildings shaking and people evacuating their homes.
While Venezuela has not experienced a devastating earthquake since the Cariaco quake of 1997, which left 73 dead, the country remains highly exposed, with around 80% of its population living in seismically active areas.