A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northwest Venezuela on Wednesday, with tremors felt across the country, including the capital, Caracas, and parts of neighbouring Colombia. Authorities said no casualties or damage have been reported.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s epicentre was about 24 kilometres (15 miles) from Mene Grande in Zulia state, roughly 600 kilometres (370 miles) west of Caracas. It struck at a shallow depth of 7.8 kilometres (5 miles).
Mene Grande, located on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo, is a major centre for Venezuela’s oil industry. The region is economically important, as the country holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Seismology agencies gave slightly different readings of the quake. The Colombian Geological Survey also measured it at 6.1, while Germany’s Research Centre for Geosciences put the magnitude at 6.3 at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). Venezuela’s Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said the Venezuelan Foundation for Technological Research recorded two additional quakes measuring 3.9 and 5.4 in Zulia and Barinas states.
Venezuela sits near the junction of the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, with about 80 percent of its population living in active seismic zones. The country has a history of strong earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.2 event off its northern coast in 2018 that killed more than 400 people.
Authorities said residents in affected areas evacuated buildings as a precaution, and monitoring of the situation is ongoing.
