Venezuela 7.5 Quake: USGS Warns of High Casualties, Widespread Damage

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake hit at a depth of 10 kilometers, 16 kilometers southwest of Morón, about 160 kilometers west of Caracas. It was preceded by a magnitude 7.2 foreshock 39 seconds earlier, USGS said.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System initially issued a threat for Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, plus islands off Venezuela's coast – Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. It withdrew the warning within about an hour.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on state television that buildings had collapsed in Caracas and that states including Trujillo, Yaracuy, Carabobo, Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira were affected. Local news showed part of the capital's airport roof had collapsed, throwing up clouds of dust.

USGS assessed that high casualties and extensive damage were probable and that the disaster was likely widespread. Its initial death toll estimate ranged from 10,000 to 100,000. Authorities did not immediately provide official casualty figures.

Cabello repeated that some buildings had come down in Caracas and houses had collapsed. The USGS later updated the first quake's magnitude to 7.2, calling the sequence a doublet with the 7.5 as the mainshock.