The expert compares to the Haiti disaster
Published 09.04
Two large earthquakes in short succession – in a densely populated area.
Now thousands are feared to have died in Venezuela.
– The first thought is that this will not go well, says Björn Lund, seismologist at Uppsala University.
Thousands are feared to have died in the twin earthquakes that struck Caracas, Venezuela during the night of Thursday. The first quake had a magnitude of 7.2 and just 39 seconds later came the second at 7.5.
According to the United States Geological Survey USGS can between 10,000 and 100,000 having died in the earthquakes.
– This is a very big earthquake, there will be very strong shaking in a densely populated area where the building standard is not as good as you would like, says Björn Lund, seismologist at Uppsala University.
Two tremors unusual
According to Björn Lund, two large earthquakes in a short period of time is unusual, although it has happened before. And the very fact that there are two earthquakes in a very short time may have contributed to worsening the situation, as buildings damaged in the first quake are hit harder by the second.
– Something that may not have been completely damaged in the first, collapses in the tremors that come from the second quake.
He believes that the earthquake in Caracas is reminiscent of previous earthquakes, and mentions the earthquake in Myanmar last year and Turkey in 2023.
– The worst comparison is Haiti in 2010, where they estimated between 120,000 and 300,000 dead. Now we really have to hope that it won’t be too bad today.
Risk of aftershocks
While the rescue work is now underway, several aftershocks are expected. This means that the rescue work is associated with great risks. According to Björn Lund, an aftershock just over magnitude 6 must be expected.
– If you have rescue workers in damaged houses that collapse in the aftershock, there is a great danger for the rescue forces.
At the same time, it is very urgent to save them as they are stuck in collapsed buildings.
– They usually say that you have a couple of days, but no more than three, so it’s very urgent.
