MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two powerful earthquakes strike northern Venezuela and collapse buildings in Caracas

The USGS described both quakes as a “seismic doublet,” a phenomenon in which two large-magnitude earthquakes occur seconds apart in the same area

Two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, about 39 seconds apart, struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, collapsing buildings in the capital, Caracas, and leaving rescue teams working through the rubble, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, though she did not provide figures for the injured or dead.

The epicenter was located about 160 kilometers west of Caracas, in the north-central part of the country, at a depth of close to 13 kilometers. The USGS described both quakes as a “seismic doublet,” a phenomenon in which two large-magnitude earthquakes occur seconds apart in the same area. The tremor was strongly felt across several states —Carabobo, Yaracuy, Falcón, Aragua, Miranda, La Guaira and the capital itself— and sent thousands of people fleeing their homes. The US Tsunami Warning System issued a threat for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands that it canceled about an hour later.

ÚLTIMA HORA | Video muestra el momento exacto de cómo comenzó el devastador terremoto en Venezuela.

Las imágenes fueron capturadas por una cámara de seguridad en La Pastora, Caracas. https://t.co/vVhsFVi6Mi pic.twitter.com/n0yAJ0tfn2

— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) June 25, 2026

There is still no official casualty toll. Authorities released partial, local figures: in Falcón state, Governor Víctor Clark reported 32 people hospitalized and about 15 trapped hours after the quake, while in the Caracas municipality of Chacao, Mayor Gustavo Duque reported two collapsed structures, 16 injured and the existence of fatalities, without specifying a number. The USGS, which produces impact models, preliminarily estimated that the death toll could fall in a range of between 10,000 and 100,000 and warned that “the disaster is likely widespread,” a statistical projection that will have to be checked against counts on the ground.

En venezuela, un tipo estaba escapando de su departamento por el terremoto
Y a cada piso que bajaba el edificio se hacia mas y mas mierda pic.twitter.com/fgLKaR2PKn

— ElBuni (@therealbuni) June 25, 2026

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed “alarming” situations in parts of the capital and asked the population not to remain in their homes given the risk of aftershocks, of which nearly two dozen were recorded. At Maiquetía airport, which serves Caracas, part of the roof was damaged and all flights were canceled. Rodríguez reported disruptions to electricity and water supplies in La Guaira, Caracas and other states, and announced the suspension of the metro, the railway and school classes. “The first thing is to maintain unity to save lives,” said the leader, who asked health personnel to report to their posts.

US President Donald Trump said his country “stands ready, willing, and able to help” and indicated that he had instructed “all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly.” “We will be there for our new and great friends,” he wrote in a social media post, alluding to the rapprochement between Washington and the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez, which took office after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation in January. Earlier, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau had said the United States was in contact with the Venezuelan authorities to “mobilize assistance.”

Residents' accounts described scenes of panic. “We were in the street and had to hold on to the cars,” said Michael Alicastro, who helped pull five people out of a 14-story building that collapsed. In several areas, rescuers —mostly police officers— worked without equipment and asked for ropes and flashlights, while relatives shouted the names of trapped neighbors. Many residents were left without electricity or phone signal, which deepened the distress in a country from which more than 7.7 million people have emigrated during its protracted crisis.

On the political front, opposition leader María Corina Machado called for unity and solidarity, while opposition figure Edmundo González denounced a “systematic blockade” of information that, he said, prevents Venezuelans from learning the real scale of the catastrophe. Internationally, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Washington was in contact with the Venezuelan government to “mobilize assistance”; El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced the dispatch of 300 rescuers, and other countries and the UN expressed their solidarity. Venezuela sits in a seismically active zone, where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate; Caracas had already suffered a devastating earthquake in 1967 that left 236 dead.