A 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck off Venezuela’s northern coastline on Monday, rattling nerves in a country still reeling from a catastrophic double quake that claimed nearly 2,000 lives less than a week ago.
The tremor occurred on June 29 in the Caribbean Sea, with its epicentre located between 27 and 42 kilometres north of the capital, Caracas, and the coastal city of Caraballeda, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. No tsunami warning was issued.
Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, stated that no reports of fresh damage or casualties from this latest seismic event had been received.
The new tremor comes just days after a series of powerful earthquakes devastated parts of the country on June 24. Two major quakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — struck the state of Yaracuy within roughly 40 seconds of each other, unleashing a sequence of 214 aftershocks.
Official figures place the death toll from that disaster at 1,719, with a further 5,034 people injured. More than 15,800 residents have been left homeless. Rodríguez confirmed that search-and-rescue operations are under way, involving 3,319 international rescue workers, 45 foreign delegations, 140 dogs, and 49 support vehicles.
