Earthquakes in South America as Storm Humberto intensifies

Photo of Rafael Garcin in Unsplash

A series of at least four earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 6.3 to 4.9 shook western Venezuela on Wednesday night, with aftershocks and tremors also felt in Colombia.
The strongest was reported near Mene Grande, Zulia state, with a magnitude of 6.2 by the USGS.
Although precautionary evacuations were carried out in offices and buildings near the border, no immediate serious damage or confirmed casualties were reported.

Colombia also felt the tremor

Emergency evacuations were reported in several Colombian border cities (such as Cúcuta, Bucaramanga, and Maicao), especially in high-rise buildings.
Although no severe structural damage was reported in Colombia, the alert remains in effect for possible aftershocks in the area of influence.

Humberto advances: could become a hurricane

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Humberto has been officially named and is located several hundred miles east of Puerto Rico.
Humberto is expected to weaken to a tropical storm through the weekend and then potentially strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane. Some models predict it will reach major hurricane strength (Category 3 or higher) by early next week.
The system is moving west-northwest at moderate speeds and could interact with another nearby tropical disturbance (Invest 94L), which is currently crossing Puerto Rico and neighboring areas.

Risks and recommendations

• In Venezuela and Colombia, authorities are monitoring possible aftershocks; preemptive evacuations have been recommended.
• Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands are urged to prepare for heavy rains, strong winds, and possible flooding if Humberto develops into a hurricane.
• The interaction between Humberto and Invest 94L adds uncertainty to the forecast: the final trajectory will depend on the behavior of both systems.

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Sources:

• Fox Weather
• KSBY