Just after 6 pm local time on Wednesday, the Venezuelan capital was hit by a foreshock measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, followed 39 seconds later by a larger mainshock measuring M7.5. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) predicted a 44% chance of more than 10,000 deaths and a 45% chance of economic losses exceeding $10 billion.
According to multiple mainstream media reports, the earthquake destroyed buildings in the capital Caracas. The office of Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez said that the earthquake had killed 32 people and injured about 700 people.
However, the USGS puts the probability of more than 100 deaths at 12%, the probability of more than 10,000 deaths at 44%, and the probability of more than 100,000 deaths at 30%.
While the economic costs are expected to be high, it is too early to estimate insured losses from these earthquakes, but it is certain that this could become one of the largest insured loss events in the country’s history.
So far, it is unclear whether there have been public or private reports of parametric earthquakes in Venezuela. However, it can be assumed that any parametric earthquake contracts may be set up to trigger earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher, so they may be at risk or triggered if any.
According to the US Geological Survey, the first earthquake struck the Montalban area at 18:04 local time at a depth of 13.2 kilometers. The agency also said the quake was felt as far away as Colombia’s capital, Bogota.
Agence France-Presse quoted the presidential office as saying that “Venezuela has experienced more than 20 aftershocks since the first earthquake occurred on Wednesday.”
The extent of the damage remains unclear as Venezuelan authorities continue to assess the worst-affected areas. Acting President Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency.
The surface also presents significant landslide and liquefaction risks, a phenomenon that affects loose sediments during earthquakes and is closer to a lateral landslide, according to the USGS.
Venezuela is located in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates meet. The second and larger of the two quakes occurred due to “shallow strike-slip faults” near these plate boundaries, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello told state television that several states were affected by the quake. In the capital, Caracas, the neighborhoods of Palos Grandes and Altamira have been hardest hit, he warned.
