USGS fears ‘high casualties’ after two major Venezuela earthquakes 22%
By Claire Carter32%
6/25/2026, 12:38:10 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Biased Writer Voice, and Recency Bias, with Availability Heuristic as the most egregious example at 36.8% saturation with 141 hits. Analysis detected 952 faulty-reasoning hits from 383 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 35.6% and a BS Rank of 22% (16,173 of 20,518 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 78.80% of the article peer group.
Two powerful <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/earthquake/" type="post_tag" id="4315">earthquakes</a> struck north-central <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/venezuela/" type="post_tag" id="910">Venezuela</a> on Wednesday, collapsing buildings, triggering panic across the country and capital of Caracas, and prompting the U.S.
Geological Survey to warn that “high casualties and extensive damage are probable.”
The USGS said a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Morón, about 130 miles west of Caracas, at a depth of about 8 miles.
Just 39 seconds later, a stronger 7.5-magnitude quake struck nearby at a shallower depth of about 6 miles.
The agency issued a red alert on its Pager system, estimating a high likelihood of significant fatalities and infrastructural losses.
Venezuelan authorities had not immediately issued casualty figures, but emergency crews were responding to reports of collapsed buildings, damaged homes, and widespread power outages.
Interior Minister Diosado Cabello said rescue efforts were underway and urged residents to remain outdoors because of the risk of aftershocks.
He also asked the public to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles.
Videos posted on social media showed residents fleeing into the streets as buildings crumbled and dust filled the sky.
The tremors were felt across neighboring Colombia, where some buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
A man jumps on a collapsed building after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
(AP Photo/Adrian Naranjo)
The U.S Tsunami Warning System briefly issued tsunami alerts for Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands before later cancelling them.
Venezuela sits along the boundary where the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates interact, making earthquakes a recurring hazard.
While the country experiences hundreds of small earthquakes each year, Wednesday’s destructive shock is less common.
Several other seismic events were reported across the world in the past 24 hours.
<strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/finance-and-economy/4622719/trump-cancels-major-housing-bill-signing-demand-save-act/">TRUMP CANCELS MAJOR HOUSING BILL SIGNING TO DEMAND SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSAGE</a></strong>
Earlier Wednesday, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake rattled Northern <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/california/" type="post_tag" id="60">California</a> near Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, injuring several people, knocking out power, and triggering dozens of aftershocks.
Officials reported no fatalities or major structural collapses.
Later, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast early Thursday local time.
Japanese officials reported no immediate injuries or significant damage, and no tsunami warning was issued.
Speakers
2speakers19%attributed speech309writer words
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Selected voice
49%flagged-word coverageUSGS
41 attributed words55% of attributed speech94% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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Analysis
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