wěi nèi ruì lā

委内瑞拉

dì zhèn

地震

wèi hé

为何

rú cǐ

如此

yán zhòng

严重

 

：

dì zhì

地质

 

、

cuì ruò

脆弱

huán jìng

环境

yǔ

与

duō nián

多年

jiàn zhù

建筑

shī xiū

失修

Venezuela recently experienced two strong earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, only 39 seconds apart.

Both earthquakes were shallow, so the shaking at the surface was especially strong, and the tremors were also felt in Brazil, Colombia, and the Caribbean.

So far, 4,336 people have died, 16,740 have been injured, 19,000 have been left homeless, and at least 20,000 are missing.

The capital, Caracas, and La Guaira are close to fault lines, and about 80% of the country’s population also lives on the northern coast.

Some cities here were built on soft mud and sand, which can amplify seismic waves and make buildings shake even more violently.

Years of economic and social crisis have made the situation worse: many hospitals lack medicine, equipment, water, electricity, and trained staff, and fire and rescue services also lack personnel and vehicles.

Many old buildings have gone without inspection or maintenance for a long time, and some public housing is also suspected of having construction quality problems.

This disaster shows that the danger of earthquakes does not come only from nature; it is also related to urban planning, building safety, and rescue capacity.