Newsweek36%
7.5 Earthquake Hits Venezuela Collapsing Buildings; Tsunami Warning Issued 7%
By Gabe Whisnant20% Hannah Parry32%
6/24/2026, 3:38:45 PM
Topics: Venezuela, Caracas, Earthquake, Caribbean, South America, Natural Disasters, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Tsunami
Keywords: Venezuela, Caracas, Earthquake, Caribbean, South America, Natural Disasters, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Tsunami
BS Summary: This article contains 19 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Ambiguity (Equivocation), with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 23% saturation with 177 hits. Analysis detected 936 faulty-reasoning hits from 770 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 22.8% and a BS Rank of 7% (20,496 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 93.60% of the article peer group.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck about 17 miles northwest of Montalbán, Venezuela, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey.
It was followed by an even stronger aftershock, at magnitude 7.5, just one minute later.
Wednesday's powerful quakes struck nearly 100 miles west of the capital city of Caracas where there have been reports of damage and injuries, according to authorities.
Damage has also been reported at Caracas' Simón Bolívar International Airport where flights are now suspended.
A tsunami advisory was issued immediately after the quakes for much of the Caribbean.
The National Weather Service U.S.
Tsunami Warning System has since confirmed that the advisory has been lifted, stating "there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake."
The first quake occurred at a depth of about 8 miles, while the second was at an even shallower 6 miles depth.
Shallow quakes typically produce stronger ground shaking at the surface than deeper events.
The tremor was followed by several aftershocks.
The U.S.
Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands following the earthquake.
Islands off the coast of Venezuela, including Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, could also be hit by hazardous waves.
Seismic events of this size are capable of causing significant shaking across a wide area.
Videos posted to social media showed that multiple buildings had collapsed or been damaged in Caracas as residents rushed to evacuate.
Where Was the 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Felt?
The quake's epicenter was near Montalbán, in northern Venezuela, west of Caracas, and around 14 miles southeast of Yumare.
It struck at a depth of 6 miles.
A quake map, from USGS, shows that people near the epicenter experienced severe shaking, with tremors from the earthquake felt across the country.
Fault Lines and History: Why Venezuela Sees Major Earthquakes
Venezuela sits along a complex and active tectonic boundary where the Caribbean Plate interacts with the South American Plate, creating a zone of frequent earthquakes across the country’s northern region.
The plates move relative to one another, producing a mix of strike-slip faulting and subduction processes that generate seismic risk concentrated near population centers.
Major fault systems include the Boconó, El Pilar and San Sebastián faults, which together form a network capable of producing moderate to large earthquakes.
Historically, the region has experienced several damaging events, including the devastating 1812 Caracas earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7.5 or higher, which killed thousands, and more recent events such as the 2018 magnitude 7.3 quake along the country’s northern coast.
Montalbán, Venezuela: What to Know
Montalbán is a small municipality in Venezuela’s Carabobo state, located in the country’s north-central region inland from the Caribbean coast.
It sits west of the capital, Caracas, and is closer to the major industrial city of Valencia, forming part of a corridor that connects several of Venezuela’s most populated urban areas.
The area is largely rural, with a modest population and an economy tied to agriculture and regional commerce.
Despite its smaller size, its location within a seismically active part of northern Venezuela means earthquakes there can be felt across a wider region—including in larger nearby cities such as Valencia and, in some cases, Caracas.
When Was Venezuela's Last Major Earthqauke?
The last major quake to strike Venezuela before today was the Zulia earthquake sequence in September 2025.
Two major earthquakes, measuring 6.2 and 6.3, struck near Mene Grande in western Venezuela within hours of each other, followed by numerous aftershocks.
The quakes killed one person, injured more than 100, damaged homes and infrastructure, and were felt across much of western Venezuela and neighboring Colombia.
Scientists believe the earthquakes occurred on an active fault system associated with the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates.
However, the most destructive Venezuelan earthquake in modern history was the 1997 Cariaco earthquake.
With a magnitude of 6.9, it ruptured the El Pilar Fault near Cariaco in Sucre state.
Approximately 80 people were killed, more than 500 were injured, and thousands were left homeless.
Severe damage occurred in Cariaco and nearby cities, including the collapse of a school building that accounted for many of the fatalities.
Although the Cariaco earthquake was less than one magnitude unit larger than the Zulia quakes, earthquake magnitudes are logarithmic.
As a result, the 6.9 Cariaco event released several times more energy than the 6.2–6.3 Zulia earthquakes, helping explain why it caused far greater destruction and remains a landmark event in Venezuela's seismic history.
*This is a breaking news article.
Updates to follow.
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*This story and headline was updated with new details at 8.10 p.m.
ET.
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