Two powerful earthquakes that struck northwestern Venezuela on 24 June have left at least 589 people dead and nearly 3,000 injured, with widespread damage to homes, buildings and critical infrastructure. Rescue teams continue to search for survivors as authorities assess the full scale of the disaster. Economic losses are expected to reach into the billions.

The earthquakes, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 by the US Geological Survey, struck west of Caracas just 39 seconds apart along Venezuela's Boconó-Morón-El Pilar Fault System. Stretching around 1,300km along the country's northern coast, the fault marks the boundary where the Caribbean Plate moves eastward past the South American Plate. The second earthquake released around three times more energy than the first, compounding the damage across the affected region.

The disaster has again drawn attention to Latin America's insurance protection gap. The region's resilience score is estimated at around 8% to 9%, meaning most economic losses from natural catastrophes remain uninsured. Industry experts say closing the gap will require continued collaboration between reinsurers, governments and multilateral institutions to strengthen risk transfer frameworks and develop local insurance markets.

April McLaughlin, head of LatAm and Caribbean treaty and Howden Specialty Miami, commented: "This is a devastating human tragedy, and our thoughts are with everyone affected across Venezuela and the wider region. The insurance protection gap here is acute, and its roots lie not only in the economics of emerging markets, but in the specific political and regulatory history of Venezuela. There are early signs of renewed interest from international markets in re-entering Venezuela as the political situation evolves, but rebuilding that capacity will take time. Events like this make the case compellingly for accelerating that process, and for the broader effort across Latin America to bring more insurance capital into markets where catastrophe risk is real and growing."

Myrto Papaspiliou, head of international catastrophe model research, Howden Re, added: "Venezuela sits along one of the most geologically active fault systems in South America. The Boconó-Morón-El Pilar system is capable of generating large earthquakes...and the proximity of the fault zone to densely populated coastal cities including Caracas amplifies the potential for serious damage.

"The seismic doublet is particularly striking because the two earthquakes occurred so close together, just 39 seconds apart, that they would have been difficult to distinguish as separate events in real time. While the initial magnitude 7.2 shock was already severe, the subsequent magnitude 7.5 rupture released roughly three times as much energy, significantly amplifying the overall impact. The vulnerability of building stock across northern Venezuela, concentrated in unreinforced masonry and older construction, significantly compounds the impact of shaking at this intensity."

Venezuela has experienced several destructive earthquakes throughout its history, including major events in 1812 and 1967.

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