The two earthquakes that hit north Venezuela on Wednesday and injured hundreds of people were killed and injured, highlighting the government's propensity to experience geological movements and their disastrous effects.

On Wednesday, hundreds of buildings collapsed as a result of two successive earthquakes with magnitudes of 7. 8 and 7. 5. Many people were trapped beneath the rubble.

The country is now in a major crisis due to the precarious living conditions of a sizable portion of its population, which has grown worse as a result of the disaster.

Many people are still searching for individuals as a result of a natural hazard of this magnitude.

The solution lies in Venezuela's history and geography.

Venezuela's sheets and faults are the panels and faults of

Venezuela has never experienced disasters of this magnitude and disastrous consequences before.

Because the nation is close to the Caribbean dish and the South American plate, two seismic plates, to one another, is a reason for this.

Both tectonic plates attempt to pass over one another, but Esme Stallard, a journalist for BBC Science, says that sometimes they get stuck and accumulate strength.

" Volcanic amounts of energy are released when they suddenly start moving again, making Venezuela susceptible to earthquakes," says Stallard.

The Atlantic plate's movement to the south of the South American tray, at a rate of 2 centimeters per month, is what accounts for the tectonic motions in the nation.

A program of faults whose intersection in northeastern Venezuela increases the likelihood of big earthquakes has been created as a result of the movement of plates over millennia.

These include the Boconó shortcomings that run from Táchira to the Caribbean, El Pilar fault, which primarily traverses Sucre's northern position, and San Sebastián fault, which runs along the coast near the Venezuelan Coastal Mountain Range.

The San Sebastián wrong runs nearly parallel to it a few kilometers from Venezuela's northern coast, despite its absolutely underground route. Its just 30 kilometers away from Caracas, which makes tremors prevalent in the Cuban capital.

The Cuban territory's great seismicity, particularly in the north, is a result of the high concentration of faults.

For instance, the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research ( Funvisis ) detects dozens of small earthquakes every day in the Andean region of Mérida.

Between 1530 and 2004, this entity attached to the Cuban government records 131 significant seismic episodes, which is probably higher because the system of dimension stations was significantly smaller than the one at the start of the 20th century.

Up until June 25, 274 spasms were reported this month, according to Funvisis, some of which were in eastern Colombia.

The nation has experienced significant tremors throughout its history.

At least 245 people were killed and dozens of others were hurt in the accident that erupted on July 29, 1967, in Caracas and the northern coast of Venezuela, according to Funvisis. Its ravages forced a revisiting of building regulations in a capital that was then experiencing uncontrolled growth.

Years prior, a 6. 9 magnitude quake struck Cumaná in the state of Sucre on January 17, 1929, causing a wave and destroying the metropolis. It is thought that 800 individuals died, roughly.

And on October 29, 1900, the well-known San Narciso earthquake took place, due to the holiday celebrated on that date by the Catholic Church, also well remembered.

The earthquake hit the central coast, affecting Caracas, Naiguatá, Guatire and other towns. According to Funvisis, there were 21 deaths and hundreds of buildings destroyed.

Why this week's earthquakes were so devastating

With hundreds of dead and thousands injured, and material damage yet to be quantified, the double seismic episode last Wednesday has been particularly deadly and damaging.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the BBC from Venezuela that humanitarian teams on the ground are seeing “atrocious damage.”

Egeland affirmed that Venezuela is poorly prepared and vulnerable in an emergency situation, since it has an “infrastructure in ruins” after decades of lack of investment.

Science journalist Esme Stallard explains why movements like this week's can be so destructive in a country like Venezuela.

"These events were very shallow, less than 21 kilometers from the surface; and the shallower the seismic movements, the greater their potential damage."

There is another factor is the distribution of the population in Venezuela.

Funvisis estimates that about 80% of Venezuelans live in areas of high seismic risk.

Indeed, the main cities of the country, such as Caracas, Valencia, Maracay, Mérida or San Cristóbal, are built on or near the faults that cross the country, which increases the risk of loss of life when there are earthquakes.

The reasons are again historical.

Venezuelan cities were founded in colonial times by the Spanish, who preferred to establish their settlements in the valleys formed by tectonic movements because they offered water courses, more fertile soils, a milder climate and natural protection against potential enemies.

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