1967 Caracas earthquake


The 1967 Caracas earthquake occurred in Caracas, Venezuela, and La Guaira, Vargas on 29 July at 8:00 p.m. Its epicenter took place in the litoral central and lasted 35 seconds. It heavily affected areas such as Altamira, Los Palos Grandes, and Litoral Central. After the earthquake, there were several aftershocks of lower intensity. The earthquake left a toll of 1,536 injured, 225–300 dead, and cost $50–140 million United States Dollars in property damage.

Damage

Damage was extensive in the Altamira and Los Palos Grandes sections of Caracas where four major apartment buildings, 10 to 12 stories high, collapsed. Many additional structures were severely damaged and several had to be razed and reconstructed.
Huge sections of walls fell from buildings, flattening cars below and leaving large portions of structures exposed. Rescue workers used cranes and bulldozers to search through the rubble for survivors or victims of the earthquake. A week after the shock, in Caraballeda, rescue operations continued for persons believed trapped beneath the floors of Mansion Charaima, an apartment building across the street from the Macuto Sheraton. Maracay, about 50 miles west of Caracas, reported five deaths and 100 injuries. Several additional towns reported structural damage.