On June 24th, 2026, two damaging earthquakes with M7.2 and M7.5 struck near Yumare, Venezuela. The two earthquakes occurred less than 40 seconds apart. The first shock struck the region at 6:04 PM local time (22:04 UTC) and the second, slightly to the east of the first, at 6:05 PM. Widespread damage to buildings and collapse of buildings has occurred, with many buildings collapsing in La Guaira, a port city near Caracas. Photos and videos have been distributed through the media, social media, and important initial information has been distributed through engineering and scientific organizations.
CAEES-ACGPS on behalf of its members and directors extends its sympathy to the victims, families and loved ones, and gratitude to local, regional and international search and rescue (SAR) teams as rescue and relief work continues.
Local and international engineering, seismology and scientific communities have acquired, processed and provided some important initial information. Links to this evolving information, and an overview of some aspects of this unique event, follow.
For an initial assessment of the event, damage and engineering aspects, see the EERI Virtual Engineering: Virtual Earthquake Reconnaissance – What is it and Why is it Important?
For information on the earthquakes, felt shaking and implications, see extensive data and predictive estimates of damage, loss of life and injuries, see USGS data (compiled by EERI) links below.
- USGS Executive Summary and PAGER:
- USGS Event Page M7.2 and USGS Event Page M7.5 (executive summary)
- USGS ShakeMap M7.2 and USGS ShakeMap M7.5
- USGS PAGER M7.2 and USGS PAGER M7.5 (red)
- See also https://apps.usgs.gov/earthquakes/response/venezuela/
Note that ground motion records from the events have not yet been published, but records have been obtained and are expected to be published soon by local agencies.
An interesting discussion of seismological aspects, shared with EERI and others by Anne Spence: https://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/venezuelas-doublet-leaned-toward-caracas-17281/
Another interesting, evolving and broad discussion on seismology aspects, including surface slips, satellite interpretations and aftershocks, as well as social and economic aspects, is found on Substack by Judith Hubbard & Kyle Bradley | Substack. Drs. Hubbard and Bradley reported on July 1 that fatalities were near 2000 and unaccounted person counts of perhaps 40,000. These numbers are likely to change significantly, in particular for unaccounted-for persons.
For a link to an early Virtual Engineering Reconnaissance Team report (VERT), see EERI report:
2026.06.24-Venezuela-EQ-Phase-1-VERT-Report.pdf
For a link to the NZSEE early Virtual Engineering Reconnaissance Team report (VERT), see link below: Note this is an early “in-confidence” version but posted on the NZSEE web page, may be obsolete as updates are anticipated.
NZSEE_VERT_VENEZUELA-2026_V1.0.pdf
A graphical overview of seismicity, building codes and construction over the decades and some preliminary findings and observations, provided to CAEES by Drs. Tulio Carrero Roa, &. Eduardo Nuñez Castellanos [email protected] ; [email protected]
Of interest, the NZSEE is processing and is expected to release early estimates of ground shaking by processing local CCTV camera footage. This is a novel process and takes advantage and extends information cited in: Open Source Physics. https://opensourcephysics.github.io/tracker-website/ Brown, D., Christian, W., & Hanson, R. M. (2026). Tracker video analysis and modeling tool for physics education.
For a link to the notice of special session on the event at the 13NCEE, July 15, 2026, see: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute – Session
For novel and emerging data on ground and building movements, including satellite data and products, including INSar and other products, see NASA links as follow: https://gis.earthdata.nasa.gov/portal/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=0c3d77dd5aae46e4829d9a282477615c
Future NASA data related to oil and gas site conditions is expected to be posted here: https://gis.earthdata.nasa.gov/portal/home/item.html?id=65530e4b51a344b490e3db2786df0925
An interesting discussion of seismological aspects, shared with EERI and others by Anne Spence: https://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/venezuelas-doublet-leaned-toward-caracas-17281/
For a small sample of early media reports, see:
- Venezuela live updates: Death toll rises as rescuers mount frantic search for quake survivors (New York Times)
- 2 powerful quakes hit Venezuela, killing at least 164 and injuring nearly 1,000 (LA Times)
Follow social media platforms (X, LinkedIn, and others) for real-time observations, photos, videos, and eyewitness reports, while keeping in mind that unverified information and misinformation may also be shared.
Possible Post-Earthquake Reconnaissance Trip
CAEES members are requested to email our webmaster or Directors to express interest in post-earthquake reconnaissance or for virtual or other assistance. Various opportunities, whether in the field in Venezuela or virtually, exist to assist in data gathering, processing and reporting and are identified below. Other needs will be identified by the earthquake engineering and seismology communities through our ongoing liaison and enquiries with local colleagues and organizations or agencies who are planning site reconnaissance trips in the coming weeks and months. A link to CAEES policy on post-earthquake reconnaissance is found here. It is important to note that Foreign Affairs Canada recommends not travelling to Venezuela. Travel advice and advisories for Venezuela An early travel advisory cited political unrest and crime. An updated advisory addresses the recent earthquakes. Ottawa maintains an “Avoid all travel” advisory and handles all consular services remotely through its embassy in Bogotá, Colombia. As noted, there have been local engineering professionals (Venezuela, Columbia and others), universities, international SAR teams, NGO’s and individuals who have flown into Venezuela to contribute to engineering and scientific information gathering and have not experienced undue challenges.
CAEES has not made a decision at this time on whether to support members interested in participating in site reconnaissance efforts. An indication of interest and local knowledge from members is sought to assist in planning and decision-making. Some agencies (reportedly for example the Japan Institute or Architects and others) are interested in hearing from interested parties. For any individuals or teams intending to contribute, it is essential that local assistance be obtained as part of planning, safety, prioritizing and logistics. Local professionals have been identified who can assist with reconnaissance planning.
As well, there is a need for building assessments as part of safety evaluations. Anecdotally but as reported by an engineering professional, a school remained opened and functioning while in a damaged state. A person having concerns about the building safety reached out to local engineering professionals. An inspection was performed and the building(s) was red-tagged. The building collapsed within a day or so after the inspection. Many owners, public and private, as well as government agencies, require engineering evaluations. Another important task is “ground truthing” of some building locations (co-ordinates), damage, site conditions to compare with satellite-generated data and interpretations. As is always the case, field observations of damage to buildings, lifelines including transportation structures and networks, hospitals, schools and historic structures is invaluable to generate lessons to mitigate against damage and loss of function from future earthquakes. Virtual engineering reconnaissance team reports (VERT reports) have been published (links above) and will continue to remain valuable. Contributors to such virtual reports may be needed as well, given the limited number of recon teams that may eventually attend in person.
See also our RSS feed Earthquake Monitor – CAEES-ACGPS. Evolving information will be posted in updates in the coming days and weeks.
CAEES-ACGPS Board of Directors