# Twin earthquakes kill more than 160 in northeastern Venezuela, USGS estimates toll could pass 1,000
> A M7.2 at 22:05 UTC and a M7.5 shortly after struck Sucre state; PAGER red alert flags an 87% chance fatalities cross 1,000

**Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-24 · heads: What Broke, How Life Changes · 3 takes · 2 lenses · 2 regions

## Summary

Two earthquakes struck the Sucre state coast of northeastern [Venezuela](/en/entity/venezuela) on June 24. The first, M7.2, hit at 22:05 UTC; a M7.5 followed within minutes. Venezuelan civil protection authorities confirmed at least 164 deaths and 971 injuries as of late evening. [Usgs](/en/entity/usgs) issued a PAGER red alert, its highest tier, estimating an 87% probability that the final death toll will exceed 1,000. The back-to-back shocks collapsed buildings and damaged roads along the Cumaná-area coast. Aid teams were mobilizing from across the Caribbean.

## Why it matters

Venezuela's Infrastructure was already degraded before the quakes, limiting rescue capacity. The USGS red alert is a rare designation reserved for events of catastrophic probable scale. A toll above 1,000 would make this one of the deadliest earthquakes in South American history since 2010.

## What to watch

- Updated casualty figures from Venezuela's civil protection ministry over the next 48 hours.
- Whether international aid corridors open quickly given [Venezuela](/en/entity/venezuela)'s political isolation.
- USGS PAGER final loss estimate once search-and-rescue operations conclude.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **USGS Earthquake Hazards Program** (United States, en) — USGS event page for the initial M7.2 shock, event ID us6000t7zp, epicentered in Sucre state, northeastern Venezuela, at 22:05:12 UTC. PAGER red alert issued; 87% probability of 1,000 or more fatalities and significant economic losses estimated.
  Source: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000t7zp/executive
- **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — 
  Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/6/25/venezuela-earthquake-live

### US wire, breaking news
- **NBC News** (United States, en) — NBC reported 164 confirmed dead and 971 injured as of 6:49 PM EDT June 24, citing Venezuelan civil protection authorities, with rescue teams deploying across Sucre state.
  > "At least 164 people have died and 971 more were injured after two powerful earthquakes struck northeastern Venezuela on Wednesday."
  Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/venezuela-earthquake-2026

## Across the graph
- Related: [[venezuela-delcy-rodriguez-interim]], [[venezuela-nino-guerrero-strike]]
- Entities: Venezuela, Usgs

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/venezuela-twin-earthquakes-jun25