A team of experts has said that two massive earthquakes in Venezuela last month caused a large number of buildings to collapse nearly vertically in a phenomenon called “pancake collapse.” They estimated that around 10,000 buildings were made unusable.
Efforts to find missing people continue more than two weeks after the June 24 disaster. Authorities say that 4,333 people had been confirmed dead as of Saturday.
Team leader Miyamoto Hideki is an expert in structural design of buildings and has been involved in restoration efforts in disaster-struck areas. He spoke to NHK on Saturday in Catia La Mar in the coastal state of La Guaira where damage is concentrated.
Miyamoto said a series of pancake collapses occurred in which strong jolts destroyed buildings’ pillars, causing them to collapse almost vertically. He cited insufficient reinforcing rods in many pillars as well as soft ground typical in coastal areas for the phenomenon.
The team estimated that around 10,000 buildings, or about 13 percent of the total in La Guaira, were completely destroyed or heavily damaged and were rendered unusable. The figure is far higher than the latest one announced by the Venezuelan government.
The experts said an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 buildings require repairs due to cracks or holes in their structures.
Miyamoto has been in Venezuela to assist its government at the request of the US State Department.
He met interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday to brief her on the interim findings of the team’s investigation.
Miyamoto said the June 24 quakes are among the most devastating in the past 20 years, alongside the 2008 quake that hit the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan and a series of tremors that struck southern Turkey and neighboring Syria in 2023.
He said it is important to grasp the full extent of the damage, including the actual state of structural damage and the amount of rubble, in order to rebuild. He added that he believes that Japan can make contributions by using its experiences from the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
