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Main Hazards

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Venezuela is a country that is known for having many earthquakes, floods, mudslides and hurricanes. However, the two main hazards that the country experiences are earthquakes and flooding. Above the top of Venezuela lies a continental/oceanic transform fault and running through the side of the country runs a continental oceanic convergent boundary. Due to this, the country is prone to major earthquakes in the top meanwhile the side of the convergent boundary may experience great earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, mass wasting and subsidence, as explained in the book. Over the years Venezuela has had many earthquakes and flooding in the country, the most recent earthquake occurred in August that had a magnitude of 7.3 which was located in northern Venezuela and had 3 aftershocks. Meanwhile the most recent flooding occurred in September flooded many rivers and affected different families in many states in Venezuela. The floods were caused by the heavy rain that the country usuall...
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Coastal Hazards

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Venezuela has little concern for coastal hazards because it is rarely affected by it. The Litoral Center which belongs to Venezuela's Central Orographic System in the center of the Coastal Mountain Range. The coast is on a complex mountain that is compromised of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Although coastal hazards are minor, human influence does play an important role which is shown in pollution of coastal marine waters, construction development, and coastal erosion due to improper design of beaches. Although Venezuela is rarely affected by coastal hazards, it does have a plan and warning systems to help mitigate and be prepared. The country has a Seismic Network, in which it has warning centers and collects data on the seismic activity. Similar to the Seismic Network, the country also observes the Sea- level whether it rises or declines and the temperature. It also has a communication plan which has a diversity of languages and dialects. References: Venezuela Litoral Cent...
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Severe Weather

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Although, Venezuela is known for having extreme rain in the country especially during October and November it was rare for droughts to occur. However in 2016, Venezuela suffered from a severe drought that greatly affected the country when it came to water, food and even electricity. The drought conditions forced down the water level at the Guri dam (depicted above). The Guri dam is a hydroelectrical station that provides 75% of the power for the capital of Venezuela. During the drought the water conditions in the Guri dam were lower than 245 meters which is lower than the minimum to operate 8 turbines. Recently during spring of this year, there were drought concerns again in Venezuela but it did not happen An interesting atmospheric phenomenon that occurs in Venezuela are Catatumbo lighting. It occurs at the mouth of the Catatumbo river and it empties out into Lake Maracaibo. For about 200 to 300 days a year, the lightning almost never stops and produces an average of 28 stri...
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Mass Wasting Hazard

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The country of Venezuela has experienced mudslides and landslides, as shown in the picture on the right.They are most known for the disaster of the Vargas tragedy, in which constant rain, debris-flow, and flooding hazards caused the mud and landslide.  The tragedy was destructive and claimed the lives of about 30,000 and many others to be displaced. Many homes and buildings were destroyed by massive boulders that were brought down by the landslides. Even more damage was added to the city due to flooding that followed the disaster. Following the tragedy, barriers were built to prevent landslides from entering cities. They have also become aware and take precautions when there are signs of floods or landslides. They also created basins downstream in waterways that were contaminated with debris from the tragedy. In the case of building homes on unstable slopes, they must build it with lightweight materials, channeling the waters and avoiding dumps to not erode the earth. They ...
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Volcanoes & Volcano Prep

Venezuela does not have any volcanoes in the country. However, the nearest volcanoes to Venezuela are the St. Catherine volcano which is above Venezuela in the West Indies, Grenada. Other volcanoes that are near Venezuela are located consecutively in Colombia which is next to Venezuela. Although Venezuela does not have any explosive volcanoes, it does have a few mud volcanoes which are located on the Orinoco Delta in Easter Venezuela. Mud volcanoes are small vents on the ground that discharge hot mud. They are not like other volcanoes because they neither produce lava and are not driven by magmatic activity. Due to the fact that Venezuela does not have any volcanoes, they do not prepare for volcano eruptions. However, they do warn people of tsunamis in the case underground volcanoes erupt which was the case in 2015 with the underwater Kick 'em Jenny volcano. References: Volcano Locations Mud Volcanoes in Venezuela Kick 'em Jenny Tsunami Alert
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Seismic Activity & Earthquake Catastrophe Prevention

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Seismicity is the occurrence or frequency of an earthquake in a region. Venezuela is known for having many earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and mudslides ; as shown on the picture above that depicts South America's hazard map. Venezuela has had many earthquakes over the years with  major earthquake being the Caracas earthquake of 1641. However, the most recent earthquake occurred on August 21 near the northern coast of Venezuela with a magnitude of 7.3. It was a powerful earthquake that was felt as far as Bogota, Colombia. The earthquake was felt for a minute and suffered 3 aftershocks.  After receiving damage from both the Caracas earthquake and a major mudslide in 1999, Venezuela has prepared for any disasters that would have come after. By collaborating with the American Red Cross they have come up with a disaster response plan and disaster preparedness. In the case of earthquakes, Venezuela took up a project for seismic response of reinforced concrete buildings. ...
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Plate Tectonics

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Venezuela is located at the top of South America, near Colombia and Brazil. It is located on the South American Plate and is near the Caribbean and the Nazca Plate. According to Figure 2.4 in our book, shows that Venezuela is located around an uncertain plate boundary. It also shows depicts the locations of earthquakes that occur in and near Venezuela.  References: Natural Hazards by Keller, DeVecchio (Figure 2.4, pg.33)
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