Double strike
Back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 tremors leave over 2,900 dead, millions displaced in Venezuela's worst quake in a century
Updated: 2026-07-06 09:16
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Double earthquakes in Venezuela struck just 39 seconds apart on June 24. This rapid one-two punch decimated the country's infrastructure, leaving at least 2,954 people dead by Saturday, marking the strongest to hit the South American nation in more than a century.
The initial 7.2 magnitude earthquake weakened hundreds of buildings. The second, stronger 7.5 magnitude quake hit less than a minute later, causing structures that were already compromised to suffer catastrophic, total collapses. Both ruptures occurred at very shallow depths of roughly 10 kilometers.
