On Wednesday night, a series of three powerful earthquakes rattled northwestern Venezuela over approximately five hours. These seismic events sent noticeable tremors across various cities in neighboring Colombia, according to the United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.).
The seismic activity commenced at 6:21 p.m. with an initial 6.2-magnitude earthquake. Its epicenter was located in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, about 15 miles east of Mene Grande, a vital city for Venezuela’s oil sector, close to Maracaibo. Fortunately, no immediate reports of casualties followed this initial tremor.
Later that evening, Zulia experienced a 4.9-magnitude quake at 10:42 p.m., followed by a significant 6.3-magnitude earthquake at 11:51 p.m. in the state of Trujillo. All three quakes were notably shallow, occurring at depths of less than nine miles. This characteristic significantly increases their potential to cause considerable damage, as highlighted by the U.S.G.S.
Security camera footage from Venezuela’s Zulia state dramatically captured the ground shaking during two of the earthquakes. The timestamps on the recordings indicate these two powerful tremors happened approximately five and a half hours apart.
Visual evidence circulating on social media, including images and videos, suggested that the earthquakes had already inflicted damage upon buildings and roadways throughout Zulia.
The impact wasn’t confined to Venezuela; strong shaking was also reported in parts of Colombia. Mayor Fico Gutiérrez of Medellín, a city in northwestern Colombia located roughly 400 miles from the quakes’ epicenters, confirmed the tremors but stated there were no immediate reports of damage within his city.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jaime Andrés Beltrán of Bucaramanga, a city in north-central Colombia, announced on social media that emergency authorities had been put on high alert, ready to assist with any potential rescue operations.
This remains a developing situation, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.