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Caribbean-origin seismic tremor causes panic scenes in two capitals of Brazil’s Northern Region and reopens debate on the risk of distant earthquakes affecting Amazonian urban areas
On the night of this Wednesday (24), residents of Manaus, in Amazonas, and Belém, in Pará, experienced moments of apprehension. Buildings swayed, objects fell from shelves, and entire families ran to the streets. The reason, according to authorities, is thousands of kilometers away: a double earthquake that shook Venezuela and whose seismic effects reportedly reached Brazilian territory.
The information was released this Wednesday (24) by Helena Barra, Thiago Félix, and Tayana Narcisa, in a report published by the portal CNN Brasil. According to the survey, reports began to multiply on social media shortly after the evening began, describing “moments of despair” in residential buildings of the two northern capitals.
On the other hand, although the tremor caused widespread alarm, there is, so far, no record of significant structural damage on Brazilian soil. The absence of casualties, however, did not lessen the feeling of insecurity among those who experienced the phenomenon firsthand.
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Videos show panic in buildings of Manaus and Belém
As published by the portal CNN Brasil, videos shared on social media show buildings and objects visibly swaying during the tremor. In the images, it is possible to see residents reacting with surprise to the unusual movement of the structures, a rare phenomenon of this magnitude in the Northern Region of the country.
As a result, some residents chose to leave the buildings after the event, fearing aftershocks or a possible repetition of the tremor. The scene, recorded by cell phone cameras, quickly circulated among WhatsApp groups and local profiles, amplifying the episode’s repercussion even before any official statement.
In light of the repercussion, the Civil Defense of the State of Amazonas issued a note stating that the tremors felt could be related to the effects of a seismic tremor recorded in the Caribbean Sea region, near Venezuela. According to the agency, besides the Amazonian capital, seismic waves were also perceived in the municipalities of Barcelos and Iranduba.
Even so, information about the exact origin and magnitude of the phenomenon remained, at the time of publication, under verification by the competent technical bodies. In this regard, the Civil Defense highlighted that there are, so far, no records of structural damage, collapses, or casualties related to the tremor felt in Brazilian territory. The municipal Civil Defenses remain mobilized, monitoring the situation and conducting surveys of any additional occurrences.
CNN Brasil also contacted the Belém Fire Department seeking more information about possible impacts in the capital of Pará. Until the publication of the original report, the space remained open, without an official response from the agency.
The double earthquake that hit Venezuela and triggered a tsunami alert
To understand what caused the shock in the Northern Region of Brazil, it is necessary to look towards the Venezuelan coast. According to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), a magnitude 7.1 earthquake initially hit Venezuela this Wednesday (24), at a depth of 13 kilometers. The epicenter was located in the city of Morón, in the state of Carabobo, but the impact spread quickly: the tremors also shook the capital, Caracas, and even triggered a tsunami alert for part of the Caribbean coast.
Witnesses reported scenes of chaos in the streets of the Venezuelan capital. Residents rushed to leave buildings that swayed intensely during the earthquake. One witness reported that cracks appeared in the external wall of their apartment, while the glass at the building’s entrance shattered from the impact of the seismic movement.
The United States tsunami warning system reported that there was a “possibility of dangerous waves for coasts located within a 300-kilometer radius of the earthquake’s epicenter in Venezuela,” including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands among the areas at risk. Meanwhile, residents of Colombia also reported feeling the ground move, reinforcing the extent of the seismic phenomenon. The tsunami alert was later canceled after authorities concluded there was no imminent risk of destructive waves.
It is worth noting that this first tremor, with a magnitude of 7.1, was part of an unusual pattern: it was, in fact, a double earthquake, with a second tremor of even greater magnitude recorded just seconds later, near the same epicentral region. This type of event, known among seismologists as a “seismic doublet,” significantly increases the destructive potential of a natural phenomenon of this scale.
Why tremors in Venezuela are felt thousands of kilometers away
Even though the distance between Venezuela and the Northern Region of Brazil is considerable, the propagation of long-range seismic waves is not uncommon when the originating earthquake reaches high magnitudes. In this specific case, the relative geographical proximity between northern South America and states like Amazonas and Pará, combined with the intensity of the original tremor, helps explain why residents so far from the epicenter reported physical sensations of the tremor.
Therefore, the episode connects to a recent series of seismic events that have drawn attention in different regions of the continent, reinforcing the need for continuous monitoring by civil defense agencies, even in areas traditionally considered low seismic risk, such as the Amazon Basin. However, it is important to emphasize: until the publication of this article, no structural damage had been confirmed in Brazilian territory, and the situation remained under technical monitoring.
