Three strong earthquakes struck northwestern Venezuela within a span of about five hours on Wednesday night, causing shaking in parts of Colombia, the United States Geological Survey said.
The series began at 6:21 p.m. with a 6.2-magnitude quake in the Venezuelan state of Zulia that struck roughly 15 miles east of Mene Grande, a city near Maracaibo, the center of Venezuela’s oil industry, the U.S.G.S. said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
It was followed by a 4.9-magnitude quake at 10:42 p.m. in Zulia and a magnitude 6.3 one at 11:51 p.m. in the state of Trujillo. The three quakes occurred at a shallow depth of less than nine miles, meaning they were likely to cause damage, the U.S.G.S. said.
Images and videos on social media appeared to show that the earthquakes had damaged buildings and roads in Zulia.
Strong shaking was felt in part of Colombia, according to Mayor Fico Gutiérrez of Medellín, a northwestern Colombian city about 400 miles from the quakes’ epicenters. He said there were no immediate reports of damages.
Mayor Jaime Andrés Beltrán of Bucaramanga, a north-central Colombian city, said on social media that he had placed the authorities on high-level alert in case rescues were needed.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
