On June 24, 2026, Venezuela was rocked by two exceptionally strong earthquakes within less than a minute. According to the United States Geological Survey , the quakes reached magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, making them among the strongest worldwide in 2026.

The epicenters were located in the northwest of the country near the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers west of the capital Caracas. The second quake, in particular, was extremely destructive due to its shallow focal depth of about ten kilometers.

The tremors caused severe damage to buildings, transportation routes, and critical infrastructure. In Caracas, some buildings collapsed; according to media reports, damage was also reported at the international airport, along with outages in the power and communications networks. The Venezuelan government declared a national state of emergency and warned of further aftershocks.

According to official reports so far, at least 32 people have died and more than 700 have been injured. Since many people are still missing and rescue workers continue to search for survivors in collapsed buildings, the death toll could rise further. Based on the earthquake’s magnitude and the population density in the affected areas, the USGS estimates a significant risk of damage and casualties.

Venezuela lies on an active tectonic boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate. The movement of these plates causes earthquakes to occur regularly. However, events of this magnitude are rare and are considered the most severe in Venezuela in more than a century.