Twin earthquakes rocked Venezuela on Wednesday, including a 7.5 magnitude quake whose epicenter hit west of Caracas just 40 seconds after a 7.2 magnitude quake struck nearby.
At least 164 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 more have been wounded from the back-to-back earthquakes that crumbled buildings and devastated city streets, according to Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez. The total extent of the damage, however, still remains unclear as of Thursday morning, and the death toll could rise even higher as search and rescue teams try to locate missing people.
The twin quakes were “unusual for being so close together in time,” Mark Allen, Earth Sciences professor at Durham University, told Science Media Center. While the second quake’s reading at 7.5 magnitude doesn’t seem much bigger than the first 7.2 quake, “it’s actually twice as large because of the way the scale works,” Adam Pascale, a seismology expert at the Seismology Research Institute in Australia, told CNN. After the huge quakes, Venezuela has felt at least 30 aftershocks, according to Rodríguez.
The first earthquake hit around 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and its epicenter was near San Felipe, where around 200,000 people live, The New York Times reported. The second — and larger quake — hit nearby just 40 seconds later. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake was the largest to strike Venezuela since 1900.
Photos taken after the quakes show the devastation as hundreds of people were forced to the streets after apartment buildings collapsed.
People walk past a collapsed building following an earthquake in Caracas on June 25, 2026.(Photo by Manaure QUINTERO / AFP via Getty Images)
CARACAS, VENEZUELA JUNE 25: Rescue teams continue searching the rubble of a collapsed building for survivors in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026. In the early hours of the day, firefighters and Civil Protection personnel rescued an elderly person showing signs of life from the debris. The individual was taken by ambulance to a medical center. (Photo by Diko Betancourt/Anadolu via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump confirmed that reports from Venezuela following the massive quakes “are not good.” Trump added that the United States is prepared to help Venezuela following the devastation.
“The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths. The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends.”
Rodríguez responded to Trump’s post and thanked his administration for staying in contact with Caracas “in the face of this tragedy that has plunged us into mourning.”
“Venezuela will never forget the helping hand extended to our people during these difficult times,” Rodríguez added.
In an early morning post on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote that the “State Department is immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”
“The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes,” Rubio added. “Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath.”
The massive earthquakes hit Venezuela as the United States continues to oversee the South American country following the U.S. capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela was not the only country to experience quakes on Wednesday, with two other strong earthquakes hitting Japan and Northern California. A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Northern California at around 8:10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, and there were some reports of injuries. Then, soon after the twin quakes in Venezuela, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of Japan. No injuries or serious damage was reported after the Japan quake.