A state of emergency has been declared amid reports of widespread destruction in Caracas and La Guaira.
Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast less than a minute apart on Wednesday, damaging multiple buildings in Caracas and other cities across the country.
The first measured magnitude 7.2, followed shortly afterward by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
Videos from the scene show large cracks in the walls of high-rise buildings and smoke rising from the streets. Some buildings appear to have been almost entirely destroyed.
The mayor’s office of Caracas’ Baruta municipality reported that at least three people had been killed.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was located about 21 km west of the city of Moron on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. The earthquake was felt across several regions of Venezuela, as well as in neighboring Colombia.
🚨Se reportan daños tras fuerte temblor de 6.2 que tuvo como epicentro la ciudad de Caracas, #Venezuela.#Terremoto pic.twitter.com/EmBlc5p9qD
— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj) June 24, 2026
Smoke rising, structural damage seen in Caracas, Venezuela following major earthquake. https://t.co/RowBgZerZO pic.twitter.com/KMOMXPTXnS
— Noteworthy News (@newsnoteworthy) June 24, 2026
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said several structures, including residential buildings, had collapsed in the capital’s Los Palos Grandes and Altamira neighborhoods. He added that emergency services had been mobilized to respond to the damage.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, calling on all doctors and nurses to report to hospitals.
Desplome de edificios en #Caracas #Venezuela con una intensidad de 7.5 pic.twitter.com/3rMmejf5My
— Neegann® (@NEEGANN) June 24, 2026
Cabello said that, apart from the capital, the earthquake had been “strongly felt” in the states of Aragua, Carabobo, La Guaira, Miranda, Trujillo, and Yaracuy.
El Diario reported several injuries in Guatire, a city east of Caracas.
A video shows people fleeing Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, as the earthquakes struck.
Me han pasado este vídeo del Aeropuerto de Maiquetia. dios mío… pic.twitter.com/sSH0yboQVP
— Said Rahal (@srahalh) June 24, 2026
Footage posted on social media appears to show extensive damage to buildings in La Guaira, a city on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.
The deadliest earthquake in Venezuela’s recent history struck in 1967, killing around 300 people and injuring some 1,600 in Caracas. Another earthquake in the country’s northeast in 1997 killed at least 81 people.
