In just 39 secondsthat is, with less than a minute difference, . The first reached a magnitude of 7.2 and the next, 7.5, according to preliminary data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
According to the United States National Tsunami Warning Center, both tremors make up a “seismic doublet”a phenomenon in which two large-magnitude earthquakes occur a few seconds apart and in the same area.
In this phenomenon, the second earthquake It is not considered a replica of the firstas happens in other cases. In what we commonly understand as a replica, its intensity is usually lower. In the case of the doublet, the magnitude hardly changes.
As explained by , the doublet occurs “in the same area and in a very short interval, from seconds to minutes, because Fault rupture does not release all the accumulated energy in a single event“.
They assure that this type of sequences can be more destructive than a single earthquake, “since the second movement can impact structures that have already been weakened by the first.”
The situation in Venezuela
The president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, declared this Wednesday a state of emergency in the country. He could not provide an estimate of whether there were fatalities or what the number of injuries would be. but he assured that the entire public and private health network has been activated, as reported by EFE.
Classes have been canceled for both today and the rest of the week, as well as non-essential activities.
Rodríguez pointed out that there was building collapses in several areas of Caracasas well as damages in sectors of the states of Miranda, La Guaira, Falcón and Carabobo. There has also been problems in electrical, water and domestic gas service and metro and train services have been suspended.
Likewise, the president in charge reported that the Maiquetía International Airport was closed after suffering serious damage to its infrastructure, but did not specify what damage.
