4 strong earthquakes strike Venezuela

By JOHN YOON

Several strong earthquakes struck northwestern Venezuela in a restless night of shaking that continued into Thursday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quakes rippled across the border and were also felt in Colombia.

They began Wednesday at 6:21 p.m. with a 6.2 magnitude temblor in the Venezuelan state of Zulia that struck roughly 15 miles east of Mene Grande, a city near Maracaibo, the center of Venezuela’s oil industry, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was followed by a 4.9 magnitude quake at 10:42 p.m. in Zulia, a magnitude 6.3 one at 11:51 p.m. in the state of Trujillo and a 5.8 magnitude earthquake Thursday at 2:55 a.m., also in Trujillo. All quakes occurred at a shallow depth of less than 9 miles, meaning they were likely to cause damage, the USGS said.

Venezuela was struck by two dozen other smaller earthquakes and aftershocks overnight, Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president of Venezuela, said in an interview on state television early Thursday. She added that the nation was on high alert but that there were no reports of casualties.

Luis Gerardo Caldera, Zulia’s governor, said on social media that authorities were assessing the damage, including at the church of Santa Bárbara in Maracaibo.

Images and videos on social media appeared to show that the earthquakes had damaged buildings and roads, and prompted people to evacuate their homes in Zulia.

Strong shaking was felt in part of Colombia, according to Mayor Fico Gutiérrez of Medellín, a northwestern Colombian city about 400 miles from the quakes’ epicenters. He said there were no immediate reports of damage.

Mayor Jaime Andrés Beltrán of Bucaramanga, a north-central Colombian city, said on social media that he had placed authorities on high-level alert in case rescues were needed.