Colombia Earthquake Underscores the Importance of Seismic Preparedness

At 18:04 (6:04 p.m.) local time on June 24, 2026, the coast of north-central Venezuela moved — twice. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck beneath the hills southeast of Yumare, between the towns of San Felipe and Morón (Figure 1). Thirty-nine seconds later, before the first rupture’s shaking had cleared the region, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake broke a few kilometers to the east. At least 2,300 people have died though the death count may end up far higher.
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Is 2026 a particularly bad year for earthquakes? The number of extremely strong quakes so far this year is not, in fact, unusual. Over the long term, around the world, there are an average of about 15 earthquakes per year registering above magnitude 7 on the Richter scale. By mid-August this year, there had been 10. The devastation some of the quakes have wreaked has, however, been striking.
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Japan absorbed two significant earthquakes on the same day Sunday, August 23, 2026 — first a magnitude 5.9 intraslab rupture that awakened millions of Tokyo-area residents at 2 a.m. and injured at least 37 people across five prefectures, then a magnitude 6.0 event off the southern coast of Hokkaido that evening — extending what has already become an unusually active seismic year for the archipelago.
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Many older apartment buildings contain hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos. While these substances may not always be visible, they can pose serious risks to both human health and the environment if not handled properly.

Unfortunately, some property owners underestimate these dangers or attempt to remove these materials without following the required regulations. Trying to bypass proper procedures can put workers, tenants, and surrounding communities at risk.
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