Magnitude 3.9 quake shakes northern Venezuela, causing evacuations and panic

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake shook northern Venezuela on Friday, prompting panic and the evacuation of buildings, though no damage or casualties have been reported thus far. The Venezuelan Foundation of Investigations Seismological (Funvisis) confirmed the tremor occurred at 10:53 local time (14:53 GMT) at a shallow depth of 5.5 kilometers.

The epicenter was located 10 kilometers northeast of Naiguatá, in La Guaira state, an area that was severely impacted by a double earthquake on June 24. The recent seismic activity caused dozens of people to evacuate commercial buildings in Caracas, with residents reporting building clear-outs in areas like La Candelaria, Los Ruices, Plaza Venezuela, and Chacao.

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We came here (Altamira square) because as you can see our tower is not that beautiful and the one next door is much less so

Building administrators requested occupants to evacuate for safety reasons, asking them to remain outside for a period. Génesis Palma, an employee in a financial tower in eastern Caracas, described feeling the movement and descending the stairs when another tremor occurred. She noted that her colleagues held onto each other to evacuate safely. Palma mentioned that the building where she works sustained superficial damage from the June 24 earthquakes, but after Friday's tremor, employees decided to collect their belongings and go home.

The official toll from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes on June 24 stands at least 3,889 deaths and 16,740 injuries as of Thursday. Additionally, 17,907 people remain without housing, while the number of rescued individuals has been stable at 6,462 since the previous Thursday. The June double earthquake is considered the deadliest seismic event in Venezuela in the last century.

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We grabbed onto each other to be able to evacuate the building.