Doral Councilman Schedules Aid Drive for Caracas Quake Victims in City of 80,000

Q: After a century of calm, why did two massive earthquakes strike Venezuela within minutes?

They struck because northern Venezuela sits on an active boundary where the Caribbean Plate slides past the South American Plate, and stress that had built up along nearby strike-slip faults was released in a rare “doublet” sequence. According to the U.S. Geological Survey and other seismic reports, the two quakes were not independent random events but closely linked ruptures. An initial quake of about magnitude 7.1 to 7.2 hit near Morón/San Felipe, and less than a minute later a larger magnitude 7.5 quake followed near Yumare. Their epicenters were only about 45 kilometers apart, and both were shallow, roughly 10 to 22 kilometers deep, which made the shaking much stronger at the surface. Seismologists describe this as a rupture-interaction process: the first quake likely changed stress on a neighboring section of the fault system and helped trigger the second, larger rupture almost immediately. The area is part of the Boconó-Morón-El Pilar fault network, a major transform system known for right-lateral strike-slip motion. The “century of calm” does not mean the fault was inactive. It means there had been relatively few earthquakes of this size in the immediate area. The USGS says only a small number of magnitude-6 or larger quakes have occurred nearby over the past century, making this sequence unusual but not inexplicable. In tectonic terms, long quiet periods can allow strain to accumulate until it is released suddenly in one or more major earthquakes.

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 25

Thursday afternoon, Doral Councilman Rafael Pineyro scheduled an aid drive for victims of Wednesday’s Caracas earthquakes, mobilizing volunteers who had helped after earlier disasters in Venezuela.
Spotty cell service and internet coverage in Caracas left South Florida Venezuelans struggling to reach relatives, turning the quake into an immediate crisis for families in Doral.
Adelys Ferro of the Venezuelan American Caucus said it took nearly an hour and dozens of calls to reach her mother and sister; her sister suffered a forehead gash, but their 13-story building stayed intact.
Doral — where about 40% of the city’s 80,000 residents are from Venezuela — has been hit especially hard by the fallout, with Pineyro saying most local Venezuelans still have family or friends there.