By: Staff Writer
June 26, 2026
A double earthquake rocked Venezuela on Wednesday killing at least 188 people, 1,500 injured and more than 200 trapped. Many more are feared dead in the rubble.
The powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck 39 seconds apart along the San Sebastian fault on Venezuela’s northern coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
They were among the strongest in the South American nation in more than a century.
Director of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre (UWISRC) Dr Euroscilla Joseph told Caribbean Magazine Plus that Venezuela being hit with two earthquakes of that magnitude less than a minute apart is extremely “rare, with a less than five percent chance of happening.”
Joseph, in a further release sent to the media, also said: “Aftershocks are a normal part of the earthquake process and can continue for days, weeks, or even months following a large earthquake. Most aftershocks are smaller than the main earthquake, although some may still be felt in nearby areas. These aftershocks are not likely to generate tsunamis threats.
“The Caribbean region is located within an active tectonic setting where the Caribbean and South American plates interact. Large earthquakes occasionally occur along this plate boundary, including in northern Venezuela and offshore areas near Trinidad and Tobago.
“As a result of the large magnitude events in Venezuela, the SRC has seen a small increase in the number of event that are being recorded around Trinidad & Tobago, as well as the wider Lesser Antilles region. This is to be expected given the disruption to the plate activity.”
The release also said: “There is currently no tsunami threat to Trinidad and Tobago or the wider Caribbean associated with these earthquakes. Regional monitoring agencies continue to review data from seismic and sea-level networks with the PTWC having the responsibility of issuing tsunami advisories for the Caribbean.
“Although a tsunami threat assessment was issued following the earthquakes, sea-level observations from regional monitoring stations and offshore tsunami detection systems did not indicate the generation of a significant tsunami. The tsunami threat has therefore ended.”
The first earthquake, a 7.2-magnitude foreshock, hit west of Morón on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas, with a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles).
The second, a 7.5-magnitude mainshock, was centered 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles).
The back-to-back earthquakes — known as a doublet because of their similarities in magnitude, time and proximity — resulted from shallow strike-slip faulting near the complex plate boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, the U.S. Geological Survey said.