Magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Venezuela near Caracas
That’s big, and it is feared that the damage and loss of life is great. What’s even worse is that it wasn’t just one earthquake; it was two about a minute apart, the first at 7.1 and the second at 7.5. The only good thing about it was that people had a little bit of time to evacuate:
The earthquakes struck shortly after 6 p.m. local time. People evacuated swaying buildings in Caracas and remained outside, many visibly shocked as they saw entire walls that had collapsed, making furniture visible from the street. Dust columns could also be seen in two neighborhoods of the capital, where restaurants and other businesses are typically busy. People remained on the streets after sunset. Some sat on the ground hugging their pets as dust gathered around them.
“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” Caracas resident Hector Ricci said.
I wonder how many of the buildings in Caracas are designed to withstand quakes. This was apparently the biggest one there in about a century. My guess is that the buildings aren’t designed for a big one, and this is why:
Strong earthquakes are unusual in Venezuela.
While the country sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.
It was felt in Colombia and parts of the Caribbean. I very much hope the death toll isn’t high, but I fear it is.
[NOTE: I wasn’t at my computer or on my phone when the first news came, so I just heard about it close to 9:30 PM. But earlier today I had heard the news of a thankfully-much-smaller earthquake near the Fort Bragg area of California: a magnitude 5.6, which was the biggest in that area of California in the last forty years. It’s a beautiful place I know well, and I have relatives and friends all over the state.
I’ve been to California at least 75 times in the last 50 years, and have probably been in five or six earthquakes there myself. However, mercifully, I’ve never been in a very serious one – although a person doesn’t know that at the time until it’s over. I’ve been in ones that are gentle and ones that begin with a harsh jolt, ones that seem to be over quickly and ones that seem to go on for quite some time. They are always frightening, every single one of them.
Northern California and Caracas are very far from each other and on different tectonic plates, and so these earthquakes on the same day were almost certainly coincidental. But if it’s a coincidence, it’s certainly an eerie one.]
There will be people demanding that we send money to Caracas. I can’t help but think sending SeaBees would probably be a better idea.
And there was a big one in Japan as well. Makes you wonder.
SCOTTtheBADGER
There will be people demanding that we send money to Caracas. I can’t help but think sending SeaBees would probably be a better idea.
Considering the corruption in Venezuela, not a bad idea. The downfall of Somoza was triggered by outrage from his stealing a lot of the money intended for assistance after the 1972 earthquake in Managua. Around the time of the 2004 Recall Referendum in Venezuela, I worked for a small company that employed a lot of Venezuelan petroleum engineers. They were nearly all anti-Chavista. Having had my exposure to corrupt cops when I worked in Venezuela several decades back, I asked one of the Venezuelans if corruption was one reason that Chavez got elected. The reply came back that with Chavez, corruption was worse. And it was, I found out. With higher oil prices, more money to steal.
In 1999, Vargas suffered floods that killed an estimated 10-30 thousand: 36″ of rain in 52 hours—equivalent to about a year’s rainfall. Vargas is on the coast, some 30 miles north of Caracas. The US offered assistance, but Hugo Chavez turned the assistance down, saying it was an issue of sovereignty.
Which of course did not stop Hugo from accepting assistance from Cuba. After all, Hugo once said that if Fidel could be President of the World for five years, he would solve the world’s problems. We know how that turned out. From 1961 to present, milk production more than quadrupled in Latin America, but increased only 10-20% in Cuba.
The epicenter of the quake was in San Felipe, Yaracuy. The once-active blogger, Daniel of Venezuela News and Views, lived in Yaracuy state, but moved to France several years ago. He was of French ancestry, which enabled him to move. (Interesting that of the three once-active Venezuelan English blogs, two were run by STEM doctorates. Daniel in biology, and Miguel Octavio of Devil’s Excrement in physics.)
Some photos I have seen of the quake in Caracas indicate little damage. But other sources indicate a lot of damage.
One night in the Guatemalan highlands I felt an earthquake tremor, but nothing fell down. It was in the countryside, so not much to fall down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vargas_tragedy
I think Fort Dragg is in North Carolina.
A friend’s father is down there and she has talked to him and an uncle. They said it was very strong and buildings had fallen.
“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!” – President Donald J. Trump
https://x.com/i/status/2069993600432136695
Full statement at link.
I’ve been through a few quakes in California. The first one was in San Diego probably in 1977 or 78. I was in a Save-On drug store minding my own business and didn’t notice anything at first. Then I felt an emotional response ripple through all the people around me. They were looking up. The aisles were marked by signs hanging from long chains, and the signs were all swinging back and forth.
Then many other small ones too.
By the time 1989 rolled around and I was sitting in my office near quitting time, I was certain quakes were no big deal. The Loma Prieta quake began with an epicenter about 23 miles away. It came in three waves or phases. The first phase was a typical little CA quake. To me, it was a laugh. Oh thank you for the massage.
The second phase was stronger. Oh baby! Mother earth is more serious! I was paying attention now, but I wasn’t alarmed.
The third phase: “Expletive deleted!” What’s my pathway out of the building and how long will that take? Three hallways and three corners to the out-of-doors. It was all over by the time my mind had processed it.
There is also a Fort Bragg in CA. It’s on the coast about 140 miles north of San Francisco, as the crow flies.on highway 1. The semi-famous San Andreas fault lies several miles off the coast in the Pacific.
I doubt it is named after the general as the crazies have not demanded it be renamed.
Having lived in East Asia several years ago, I’ve been through many earthquakes. Both small (almost like a large truck is rumbling by) and larger ones where the telephone lines are doing a dramatic dance on the poles as buildings join in too.
But, one thing that I have never experienced personally, although I have seen the aftermath, is the process called liquefaction. This is where the ground which is solid enough to stand on, has enough water in it that the shaking causes it to act like liquid. The aftermath is where cars, motorcycles, etc. look like they were driven into a large mud puddle then left there while the puddle dried up leaving the items partially buried in the ground. I’ve seen YouTube videos of this and do not want to be anywhere near it.
As for Caracas, let’s hope the death toll is low. Currently ABC (Australia) is quoting the USGS as a potential death toll of 100,000. Let’s hope their estimate is too high.
Another Mike –
Fort Bragg, CA is named after Captain Braxton Bragg, pre-Civil War.
This morning’s quake was centered about 8 miles SE of the town of Willits, CA (the burial place of Seabiscuit), and about 5 miles SSE of the Carl F. Wente Scout Reservation, where I worked for 4 summers.
All of the campers and staff were at the morning flag raising when the quake occurred. No injuries or damage, and camp operations continue as normal.
Willits is ~30 miles inland from Fort Bragg.
(I grew up in the Bay Area, and have been through many quakes, the biggest being Loma Prieta in 1989. For Californians, a 5.6 is noticed, but not remarkable.)
Years ago when I worked regularly as a musician I often traveled to that part of California, to Ukiah (near Willits) and the town of Mendocino just south of Ft. Bragg. Stunningly beautiful country. CA Hwy 1 up there is only slightly less spectacular than Big Sur and the scenery is at least as gorgeous. It is not in great shape economically though due to the decline of the logging industry.
The Daily Mail has a lot of awful pictures from Venezuela, but no authoritative updates on the estimate of at least 164 dead from yesterday. It will take a while for the scope of the damage and losses to emerge. May God help them. Maybe the SeaBees can also.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15928469/The-shocking-footage-Venezuelas-killer-earthquake-Apocalyptic-scenes-terrifying-airport-collapse-citizens-cheating-death.html
Just a reminder that the Richter scale is logarithmic. So the Venezuela earthquake (7.5) is about 700 times more powerful than the California earthquake (5.6). The reported size of the earthquake can mislead people into thinking that the Venezuela earthquake was only slightly larger than the California one, when the difference is actually huge.
Those of us who live in California are already well aware of the difference between a 5.6 quake and a 7.5 quake.
Marisa: “And there was a big on in Japan as well. Makes you wonder.”
It was caused by global warming. Or Trump.
It was caused by Trump who caused global warming, and algae.
om: “It was caused by Trump . . .”
Said tongue in cheek; but, we all know from experience that no matter what aid the US sends the TDS people will find something to criticize Trump about – too much aid going to the wrong people, not enough aid, it is only for propaganda purposes, it is not being sent soon enough, etc.
While I haven’t heard/seen those criticisms yet; I do believe they will be coming for Trump haters do not have an off switch,
The videos showing pancaked buildings is a bad sign. I’m sure the chaotic and corrupt political systems in Venezuela have allowed for 30 years of ‘workarounds’, when it comes to observing the construction codes. Or maybe they’re just very old buildings.
Shallow earthquakes like these are a lot worse because of the lateral motion they impart to structures. Generally buildings are overbuilt with respect to weight loading and gravity, but not so much for sideways forces. I lived in the Caribbean for a lot of years, not far from Venezuela, and quakes of all kinds were pretty regular.
The really bizarre part about a strong quake is the realization that things are moving in ways that defy your mind’s ability to comprehend. A large open-plan workplace, in a strong quake, is like being in a big box and watching the 8 corners of that box moving independently from each other, like it’s being flexed in the hands of a giant. Really screws with your head to see a normally-fixed spatial reference start changing, and those senses are also having trouble with all that motion your inner ear is communicating, but you’re not seeing, because you’re stuck in that box.
I hope the deathtoll is low, but I think it’s going to be a while before we actually know.
“(I grew up in the Bay Area, and have been through many quakes, the biggest being Loma Prieta in 1989. For Californians, a 5.6 is noticed, but not remarkable.)”
—- Dave L
Same here, including the very slow work of the Hayward fault splitting the UC stadium, end zone to end zone. I guess the crazy leftists/BLM crowd never made the connection between Captain Bragg, USA, and General Bragg, CSA.
— om
Remember, some people apparently seriously accused GWB of intentionally causing Hurricane Katrina to strike New Orleans…somehow. One allegation I recall was that he used the HAARP complex to do it, and they apparently meant it.
And of course Bush caused the 911 towerfall, too. IIRC, Rosie O’Donnell accused him of that (but I could be remembering wrongly).
They hate who they hate.