Why did so many buildings collapse in Venezuela’s twin earthquakes?

As Venezuela reels after the deadly twin earthquakes that resulted in widespread devastation and loss of lives, engineers and urban planners are asking questions over the safety of public housing projects built under former president Hugo Chávez’s social housing programme. The humanitarian crisis in the country has raised concerns over the construction quality, enforcement of building regulations and the risks of building in geologically unstable areas. The two quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck within a minute of each other have flattened neighbourhoods, resulting in a high death toll. In the worst-hit La Guaira state, several apartment blocks have collapsed. Meanwhile, rescuers are racing against time to locate survivors under the rubble as tens of thousands of people remain missing.

National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez on Monday (Jun 29) said that the death toll in the tragedy has risen to at least 1,719. He added that 5,034 people were injured.

Why did the buildings collapse?

While the experts say it is too early to determine the exact cause of structural failure, civil engineers have listed multiple factors that may have caused more buildings to collapse. Weak enforcement of building codes, inadequate quality checks, poor maintenance and decades of institutional decline may have worsened the destruction.

Many of the damaged buildings were part of large government-backed affordable housing schemes that were constructed in the last two decades. Experts have also argued that speed often took priority over maintaining engineering standards.

Risky terrain adds to danger

Richard Casanova, director of Venezuela’s College of Engineers, told Reuters that La Guaira’s geography also played a major role in the scale of the disaster. Built between steep mountains and the Caribbean coast, the region sits on loose sand, gravel and debris left behind by past floods and landslides. Such soil conditions can amplify seismic shaking and increase the likelihood of structural failure during major earthquakes.

Civil engineer Nicolás Labrópoulos said these loose sediments can amplify ground motion during earthquakes, making strict compliance with earthquake-resistant construction standards essential.

Experts stress that the building regulations in the country are not necessarily outdated, but weak implementation, limited oversight and poor quality control remain the biggest challenges in preventing similar disasters.