{"id":7483,"date":"2018-12-27T04:14:23","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T09:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bnonews.com\/?p=7483"},"modified":"2018-12-27T07:07:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T12:07:15","slug":"moderate-earthquake-hits-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bnonews.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/moderate-earthquake-hits-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong earthquake hits Venezuela, felt in Valencia and Caracas"},"content":{"rendered":"

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 has struck northwest Venezuela, with shaking felt in Valencia, Caracas, Barquisimeto, and neighboring Colombia, officials say.<\/p>\n

The tremor, which struck at 4:59 a.m. on Thursday, was centered about 5 kilometers northeast of San Diego, 15 kilometers west of San Joaqu\u00edn, or 17 kilometers northeast of Valencia.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.5. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers, making it a very shallow earthquake.<\/p>\n

Shaking was widely felt across the region, waking up many people, especially in San Diego and Valencia. Some buildings in nearby cities, including Caracas, were evacuated as a precaution.<\/p>\n

“It felt very strong. Noisy and long,” one resident near the epicenter told EMSC. An aftershock, which measured 5.0, struck about 25 minutes later, at 5:24 a.m.<\/p>\n

Computer models from the USGS estimate that up to 6 million people may have felt the earthquake, including 1.1 million people who could have experienced “strong” to “very strong” shaking.<\/p>\n

There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.<\/p>\n

\n

Breaking: Some have evacuated buildings in Caracas after an earthquake was felt several minutes ago. pic.twitter.com\/W8lNoaAto0<\/a><\/p>\n

— Cody Weddle (@coweddle) December 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n