Caracas: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northwest Venezuela, according to multiple geological research organisations, sending tremors across the South American nation, including the capital, Caracas.
Tremors were reported in several Venezuelan states and across the border in neighbouring Colombia, prompting evacuations of residential and office buildings along the frontier. Authorities have not reported any casualties or significant damage so far.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake’s epicentre was located 24km (15 miles) from the town of Mene Grande in Zulia state, approximately 600km (370 miles) west of Caracas. The quake was recorded at a depth of 7.8km (5 miles).
Notable quake, preliminary info: M 5.8 – 28 km E of Mene Grande, Venezuela https://t.co/lP4zZb17Uh
— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) September 25, 2025
Mene Grande, situated on the eastern coast of Lake Maracaibo, is a key hub for Venezuela’s oil industry, a country that holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. While the Colombian Geological Survey described the earthquake as shallow, the German Research Centre for Geosciences reported a magnitude of 6.31 at a depth of 10km (6.21 miles).
Venezuela’s Communications Minister Freddy Nanez cited reports from the Venezuelan Foundation for Technological Research of two additional quakes with magnitudes of 3.9 and 5.4. Nanez said the stronger tremor affected Barinas state, while the smaller one occurred in Zulia. Nanez did not comment on the USGS-recorded earthquake.
Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines formed by the interaction of the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, with roughly 80 percent of the population living in areas prone to seismic activity. In the last century, five major earthquakes have struck northern Venezuela, including a magnitude 7.2 quake off the northern coast in 2018 that killed more than 400 people.
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