On June 24, 2026, at 18:04 and 18:05 local time, two strong earthquakes of magnitudes 7.3 and 7.4 occurred in the region around Maracay and near Caracas (Venezuela), just 39 seconds apart.

Information – from the experts at GFZ:
(As of June 26, 2026, 10:00 AM | Further information to follow)

Where did the earthquakes occur?

The earthquakes occurred along the east-west trending plate boundary between the Caribbean Plate to the north and the South American Plate to the south. The relative movement between the two plates is distributed across various fault zones, known as fractures.

The two sides of the now-affected fault are moving past each other at a rate of approximately 1.8 cm/year. Because the plate boundary is locked, elastic stresses build up over many years. The first earthquake suddenly released this stress, and some of the released energy was converted into seismic energy. The sudden stress change increased the stress on neighboring segments, triggering the second earthquake.

While earthquake services report two earthquakes for practical reasons, the small time delay indicates a more or less continuous rupture process. Therefore, one could also speak of a single earthquake consisting of two sub-ruptures. Physically, these different descriptions make no difference. The superposition of the waveforms from both sub-ruptures makes seismological evaluation complex, leading to significant differences between various earthquake services regarding the magnitudes of the earthquake doublet and the epicenter of the second earthquake/sub-rupture.

What was the magnitude of the earthquakes?

According to our measurements at GFZ, the two sub-ruptures had magnitudes of 7.3 and 7.4.

[Note: Given the difficulty of measurement for this event and the associated uncertainty, this is consistent with the data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).]

Station: “Near Coast of Venezuela” https://geofon.gfz.de/eqinfo/event.php?id=gfz2026mhpf 

Station: “Near Coast of Venezuela” https://geofon.gfz.de/eqinfo/event.php?id=gfz2026mhpg 

The second earthquake occurred approximately 160 km east, and therefore even closer to Caracas.

The magnitude values correlate perfectly (160 km / 33 s = 4.8 km/s).

Are there aftershocks? What is the current status?

Normally, one would expect several moderate aftershocks greater than magnitude 4 within a day of an earthquake of this size. With the global station network, we have so far registered only one aftershock (with magnitude 4.6). Although there are certainly smaller aftershocks and eyewitness accounts confirm this, this earthquake is unusual in the small number of aftershocks that have followed so far. Nevertheless, the risk of aftershocks remains and must be considered during rescue operations.

Region: Near Coast of Venezuela
Magnitude: 4.61
Epicenter: 10.68° N 66.74° W
Depth: 10 km
Time (UTC): 2026-06-25 05:48:25 AM
Local time: – Epicenter: 2026-06-25 01:48:25 AM GMT-4

https://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/eqexplorer/events/gfz2026mien/general 

What information is available about the tectonics in the region?

The current data suggest that the epicenter, i.e., the start of the first earthquake, was located at the northeastern end of the Boconó Fault (BF), and the second earthquake was further east along the right-lateral San Sebastián Fault (SSF). This fault trends east-west and runs about 10-15 km north of Caracas. Further east of Caracas, this fault is called the El Pilar Fault (EPF).

The NE-SW trending Boconó Fault accumulates between 10-12 mm per year, while the San Sebastián and El Pilar faults accumulate 16-18 mm per year. The western extension of the San Sebastián Fault is the Oca-Ancón Fault (OAF), which accumulates only about 3 mm per year.

Hypothesis: If the first earthquake began on the Boconó Fault (yellow dot in Figure 1) and the second on the San Sebastián Fault (purple dot, epicenter about 160 km further east), then the higher magnitude could be explained by the increasing slip rates to the east. The gray dot in Figure 1 shows the approximate location of Caracas.

Where does the damage assessment come from?

After the basic earthquake parameters (epicenter, depth, magnitude – earthquake strength) are determined, the USGS calculates the expected ground shaking in the surrounding area. This takes into account information or estimates about the soil conditions, as stronger shaking occurs on soft sediments than on bedrock. Then, based on maps of population density, it is determined how many people are exposed to what level of ground shaking. Finally, databases of the building stock in the respective region are used to estimate what percentage of houses will actually collapse at certain shaking intensities.

Sometimes, the USGS also updates these estimates when, for example, more is known about the exact course of the earthquake rupture, or measurements and observations directly in the affected areas provide more accurate information about the actual intensity of the shaking.

Because the uncertainties in many of the databases used and also regarding the rupture course are high, the range of possible casualties is also very large. In addition, factors such as the time of day (where are people actually located at the time of the earthquake) are not taken into account. Nevertheless, these estimates provide an indication of which earthquakes could represent a major international disaster and which will only have regional effects and are unlikely to require international assistance.

Publication with background information on the tectonics in the region:

• Franck A. Audemard M. a,⁎, Reinaldo Ollarves a, Michel Bechtold a, Gustavo Díaz a, Christian Beck b, Eduardo Carrillo b,c, Daniela Pantosti d, Hans Diederix (2008): Trench investigation on the main strand of the Boconó³ fault in its central section, at Mesa del Caballo, Mérida Andes, Venezuela