A pair of strong tremors on the night of June 24 in northern Venezuela have caused catastrophic damage, with reports of at least 188 people dead. Search and rescue continued into the next day amid collapsed buildings in the capital Caracas and other northern cities as the full scale of the damage began to emerge.
The level of destruction identified by early assessments shows at least 250 buildings damaged or collapsed, with at least 200 people still trapped inside. In addition to the confirmed death toll, 1,520 people have been injured and 157 are missing, and these numbers are expected to rise over time.
The magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred at 18:05 local time, shortly after a magnitude 7.2 storm. The epicenters were located about 160 km (100 miles) west of Caracas. The earthquakes were relatively shallow, which can cause more damage to buildings and infrastructure. It was the most powerful earthquake recorded in Venezuela in more than a century.
Early estimates from the United States Geological Survey predict that the death toll could ultimately be in the tens of thousands, with economic losses estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.
US Geological Survey
Rescue teams are beginning the difficult process of trying to reach people in collapsed or damaged structures. The first images from the scenes in Caracas and elsewhere show that several high and medium-rise buildings have collapsed with extensive damage to infrastructure, including the city’s airport, which has been closed. Subway service was suspended and natural gas was also cut off in the capital, according to the Associated Press.
An immediate need for temporary housing
Beyond search and rescue, initial relief efforts will focus on housing the millions of people left homeless by the earthquake, as well as reestablishing transportation infrastructure so that relief can flow, says Kit Miyamoto, founder of the nonprofit Miyamoto Disaster Relief and structural engineering firm Miyamoto International.
Miyamoto Disaster Relief has already dispatched a team from its Mexico office, many of whom have experience responding to the 2017 Puebla earthquake in Mexico City.
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Based on his own past experience in earthquake response relief operations in Turkey, China and around the world, Miyamoto says about 5 million people in Venezuela will need shelter immediately.
“When this kind of earthquake happens, about half of the building is badly damaged,” says Miyamoto. “So out of 10 million people who suffered strong shaking [in the earthquake zone]probably about 5 million people now see some amount of damage to their houses or apartments and will not use the [structure]which is a very clever thing, because the replicas can be bigger than the originals.”
While Venezuela modernized its building codes in the 1970s with seismic design elements found in many buildings built since the 1980s, much of the country’s building stock is made of non-ductile concrete, unreinforced masonry and adobe brick that can fail in earthquakes. “These are the ones you’ll see on the news that look like they collapsed when they collapsed,” Miyamoto says, adding that initial estimates put about two million mid- and low-rise buildings in the affected area. “Typically, for this type of earthquake and situation, you’re going to see 20 percent to 30 percent of the building stock being pretty badly damaged.”
Miyamoto sees similarities in this disaster with the 2023 earthquake in eastern Turkey. It was also a double event, with magnitude 7.8 and 7.7 shocks causing widespread damage and killing more than 50,000 people. “This affected about 50% of the building stock,” says Miyamoto. “And the change in building codes in the 1980s was similar to Venezuela. But Turkey, in a sense, is a richer country and had been preparing for an Istanbul earthquake, so it had a strong response capacity ready. That’s not the case here.”
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has announced a $200 million reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the earthquake.
The United States said it was sending two international search and rescue teams to help with the disaster response and would contribute $150 million to Venezuela’s recovery through non-governmental and United Nations partnerships.
