This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
A pair of earthquakes measuring greater than 7.0 on the Richter scale struck the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and the coastal city of La Guaira on Wednesday, killing at least 164 people and injuring more than 1,000, according to a statement from acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez.
According to the United States Geological Survey website, a pair of earthquakes centered approximately 28 kilometers southeast of Yumare in the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy struck less than a minute apart on Wednesday evening, with a 7.2 magnitude temblor shaking the ground at 6:04 p.m. local time, followed by a 7.5 magnitude quake at 6:05 p.m. The quake caused numerous building collapses and closed Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maquetia, the main airport serving Caracas and La Guaira.
The quakes are the worst natural disaster to hit Venezuela since the 1999 Vargas Landslides, when torrential rains struck Venezuela’s Vargas state in December of that year, causing massive mudslides in La Guaira and several towns along the Venezuelan coast that killed more than 10,000 and led to the abandonment of several municipalities in the wake of the disaster. The pair of temblors are the strongest earthquakes to hit the South American country in more than a century, and came as the country celebrated the anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, a key victory in the country’s fight for independence from Spain in 1821.
Wednesday’s earthquake caused the collapse of numerous buildings in Caracas and La Guaira and undermined the stability of others. Among the buildings that collapsed in La Guaira was the Hotel Eduards, a popular beachfront hotel amongst the families of players participating in Venezuela’s summer professional baseball league, the Liga Mayor de Beisbol Profesional.
According to a post on X by Marcos Grunfeld, a Venezuelan-American who covers the Boston Red Sox for El Emergente, the wife of former Red Sox player Gorkys Hernandez was staying at the Hotel Eduards.
Álvaro Espinoza confirmed on Carlos Baerga’s podcast that the hotel where many family members of former Venezuelan big leaguers, playing in the Venezuela Summer League, were staying collapsed on Wednesday. Among those at the hotel was the wife of former Red Sox outfielder Gorkys…
— Marcos Grunfeld ?? (@TheBeatwriter) June 25, 2026
Liga Mayor de Beisbol Profesional Suspends Play – Video from a game being played in the LMBP between the Marineros de Carabobo and the Senadores de Caracas at Estadio Universitario in Caracas shows the moment that the quakes hit the Venezuelan capital. The game was scoreless and in the top of the first inning when the quake struck while Bryant Flete was at bat, sending players and fans onto the field as the ballpark, which opened in 1951, shook violently.
7.1 magnitude earthquake shook the stadium during a baseball game in Caracas, Venezuela pic.twitter.com/sPr3nfNVHF
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 25, 2026
The game at Universitario was one of four on the LMBP schedule for Wednesday night, and was one of two games that were underway before the earthquakes hit. In Barquisimeto, a game between the Caciques BBC and the Guerreros de Lara was suspended in the third innings with the Guerreros leading 3-1. A game between the defending champion Samanes de Aragua and the Delfines de La Guaira at La Guaira’s Estadio Jorge Luis Carneiro was scheduled to begin around the time that the quakes began.
In the wake of the temblor, Aracelis Leon, the president of the Federación Venezolana de Beisbol, declared all baseball activities in the country to be suspended.
Photo: A woman walks past a building damaged during an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)
