Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela Wednesday evening, sending players and spectators running from a baseball stadium, video shared on social media showed. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first registered magnitude 7.1, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5.
The USGS said the epicenters were near the coastal city of Morón, about 104 miles west of Caracas. Both quakes were shallow, which the agency said increased the intensity of shaking across a wide area.
Authorities reported structural damage in parts of Caracas, including collapsed walls and damaged buildings. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged residents to remain outdoors where it was safe because aftershocks could further weaken damaged structures.
Caracas residents described chaotic scenes. Hector Ricci told The Associated Press that people evacuated swaying buildings and gathered outside. “It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” he said. Roberto Damas told the AP that “the building really shook from side to side” and that “everything in the apartment fell.”
The earthquakes were felt across much of northern Venezuela and into neighboring Colombia. Officials briefly issued tsunami advisories for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands before canceling them. The New York Daily News called the tremors among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century. Officials continued assessing the full extent of the damage Wednesday night, and The New York Times reported that the scale of damage and the human toll were not immediately clear.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
