Two Zulia quakes struck in 20 minutes, Funvisis says

The fundacin venezolana investigaciones sism (Funvisis) reported two consecutive earthquakes in Venezuela's Zulia state on the afternoon of Thursday, November 12, 2026. Quakes of magnitude 2.6 and 2.9 struck about 20 minutes apart near Machiques, and preliminary updates said no damage or injuries had been reported.

Key Takeaways

• Funvisis logged two Zulia tremors on Nov. 12, 2026, at 2:07 p.m. and 2:27 p.m. local time (HLV).
• Magnitudes were 2.6 then 2.9, centered southeast and southwest of Machiques.
• Depths were 19.1 km for the first event and a shallow 5.0 km for the second.
• Regional authorities began preventive monitoring; no infrastructure damage or casualties were reported in early bulletins.
• Both reports came from preliminary Servicio Sismológico Venezolano notices shared by Funvisis.

What did Funvisis report on November 12?

According to El Universal and matching national reports, the Fundación Venezolana de Investigaciones Sismológicas—often searched under the truncated phrase fundacin venezolana investigaciones sism—said two seismic events shook Zulia the same afternoon. The agency's preliminary bulletins placed the shocks only 20 minutes apart, a detail repeated by Diario Primicia and 2001 Online.

The first quake struck at 2:07 p.m. (14:07 HLV) with magnitude 2.6. Funvisis instruments put the epicenter 45 kilometers southeast of Machiques and 47 kilometers southeast of Villa del Rosario. Estimated depth for that opening jolt was 19.1 kilometers.

At 2:27 p.m. (14:27 HLV), the seismic network recorded a second, slightly stronger shake at magnitude 2.9. That epicenter sat 57 kilometers southwest of Machiques and 78 kilometers northwest of Encontrados, at a shallow depth of 5.0 kilometers.

Primicia's coverage also relayed Funvisis social posts listing approximate coordinates: about 9.901 N, 72.172 W for the 2.6 event and 9.576 N, 72.714 W for the 2.9 event. Those figures align with the Machiques-referenced epicenter descriptions in the printed bulletins.

Where were the epicenters and how deep were they?

Both shocks were located in Zulia relative to towns Funvisis named in its notices. Machiques appears in both epicenter descriptions, first as a southeast offset and later as a southwest offset, which shows the second detection was not pinned to the exact same reference point as the first.

Villa del Rosario anchors the first epicenter description, while Encontrados anchors the second. Together, those place names give residents a clear map of where Funvisis said the energy was released.

Depth is the other clear contrast in the bulletins. The 2.6 quake was reported at 19.1 kilometers. The follow-up 2.9 quake was reported at only 5.0 kilometers—described in the Spanish-language coverage as a superficial or shallow focus. Funvisis did not, in the cited stories, assign a formal aftershock label; it documented two consecutive detections.

For readers who want numbers over rumor, Funvisis timing, magnitude, depth, and distance data remain the baseline until any revised bulletin appears. El Universal, Primicia, and 2001 Online all carried the same core parameters.

Were there injuries or damage after the Zulia quakes?

As of the preliminary Funvisis reports summarized by Primicia and 2001 Online, authorities had not reported material damage or people affected in Zulia from either tremor. That status is an early snapshot from the first wave of notices, not a later field survey.

Diario Primicia noted that after the official notices went out, regional authorities and citizen-prevention bodies started preventive monitoring near the epicentral zones. The three sourced articles do not list collapsed buildings, hospital surges, or road closures tied to these two events.

Magnitudes were reported as 2.6 and 2.9, with the stronger second event also the shallower one. The published articles stop short of describing felt-intensity maps or town-by-town shaking reports.

Anyone comparing notes online should weigh firsthand claims against Funvisis bulletins rather than unverified screenshots. The fundacin venezolana investigaciones sism remains Venezuela's named scientific source in these dispatches.

Why do back-to-back Funvisis alerts matter for residents?

Two confirmed quakes in a 20-minute window still matter even when early reports show no casualties. Residents near Machiques, Villa del Rosario, and Encontrados get a reminder to follow verified seismic channels and treat Funvisis notices as the reference record.

Funvisis, through the Servicio Sismológico Venezolano, issued the preliminary magnitude, depth, and epicenter data that El Universal, Primicia, and 2001 Online all echoed. Consistency across those outlets strengthens confidence that the basic facts—times, magnitudes, and locations—are solid.

Household resilience planning also sits alongside updates we group under our Wealth Hacks & Passive Income hub. Verified monitoring beats speculation when twin detections hit the same afternoon.

For the primary contemporaneous write-up of the twin Zulia shocks, see El Universal's Funvisis report. Cross-check later updates against Funvisis before sharing unverified claims.

Bottom line for November 12: two instrumented events; magnitudes 2.6 and 2.9; shallow second focus at 5.0 km; no damage or injuries reported in the first official wave of coverage. Watch Funvisis if revised parameters or additional detections are posted.

Timeline recap in one place: 14:07 HLV, Mw 2.6, 19.1 km deep, 45 km southeast of Machiques; 14:27 HLV, Mw 2.9, 5.0 km deep, 57 km southwest of Machiques. That sequence is what the fundacin venezolana investigaciones sism put on record for Zulia that Thursday afternoon.

Editors and readers scanning English briefings should keep the Spanish agency name attached to any paraphrase. Funvisis is the institutional source; El Universal, Primicia, and 2001 Online are the secondary reporters summarizing those bulletins for the public.

Until Funvisis publishes a follow-up revision, treat the 2.6/2.9 pair, the 20-minute gap, the Machiques-centered epicenters, and the no-damage preliminary status as the verified core of the story.

How did national media describe the Funvisis bulletins?

El Universal framed the afternoon as two consecutive sismos in Zulia, citing Funvisis as the official source and giving both clock times in HLV. The Caracas dateline piece stressed the 20-minute gap and listed Machiques, Villa del Rosario, and Encontrados as geographic anchors.

2001 Online mirrored those parameters and emphasized that Funvisis revealed epicenters and magnitudes in preliminary form. Its reporting likewise stated that local authorities and prevention agencies had not informed the public of material damage or affected persons when those first bulletins circulated.

Primicia, citing Globovisión sourcing in its byline area, underlined the same pair of magnitudes and added the Funvisis social posts that carried Mw labels, depths, and coordinate pairs. That triangulation—agency posts plus three newsrooms—reduces the chance that a single mistranscribed number drives the English summary.

None of the three sources claimed fatalities, hospital overload, or structural collapse. None announced a formal change in alert level beyond describing preventive monitoring after the second detection. Readers should separate confirmed instrument readings from speculation about larger follow-on shocks that Funvisis has not announced in these articles.

For US and UK audiences, the practical takeaway is straightforward: a verified double detection occurred in Zulia on November 12, 2026; magnitudes stayed at 2.6 and 2.9; the second event was shallower; and early civic reports showed no damage. Follow Funvisis if you need the next official word on the same sequence.

Repeating the focus label helps searchers who type incomplete Spanish: fundacin venezolana investigaciones sism points to Funvisis, the Fundación Venezolana de Investigaciones Sismológicas, whose Servicio Sismológico Venezolano issued the preliminary notices summarized above.