Aftershock hits Venezuela

CARACAS, VENEZUELA — A strong aftershock jolted Venezuela’s northeastern coast Wednesday following the most powerful earthquake to hit the area in more than a century, though officials said neither caused major damage or deaths, apparently due to their depth.

The magnitude 7.3 quake Tuesday was the largest to strike Venezuela since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But at a depth of some 76 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, it appeared to have caused only limited damage even near its epicen- ter a few miles off the Cariaco peninsula that stretches into the eastern Caribbean.

The magnitude 5.8 aftershock Wednesday morning also was centered relatively deep, 61 miles below the surface. It was felt lightly in the capital. “Shaking does die off at a distance,” said seismologist Lucy Jones, a research associate with the California Institute of Technology, adding that the earthquake’s considerable depth likely prevented a tragedy.

In Cumana, the biggest city near the quake’s center, supermarket shelves came crashing down on Tuesday.

In downtown Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, concrete from the top floors of the unfin- ished Tower of David skyscraper fell to the sidewalk, forcing firefighters to close off traffic. A block away, children wearing surgical masks stretched their necks to peer at the 620-foot building after fleeing a building housing a foundation for children suffering from cancer.

“We felt something strong and they told everyone to run,” said Marisela Lopez, who was at the foundation with her 7-year-old daughter when the quake struck.

Power outages were reported across nearby Trinidad, where people ran into the street and gasped as large glass panes at one supermarket shattered and falling concrete smashed several cars.