World Map › South America › Venezuela
Country
Map of Venezuela
South America · Caracas
Venezuela spans the South American, North Andes and Caribbean plates. Since 1900, 29 major earthquakes have been recorded, causing at least 7,086 deaths. Its exposure to natural hazards is 5.9 out of 10 (INFORM index), a high level. Its overall risk index, which accounts for its ability to cope, is 6.4 out of 10.
- Capital
- Caracas
- Population
- 31,250,306
- Area
- 912,050 km²
- Continent
- South America
Tectonic Plates
Natural Hazards
Exposure to natural hazards according to the European Commission's INFORM index, from 0 (very low) to 10 (very high), overall and for each type of hazard.
Overall Risk Index
This overall score combines hazard exposure with the vulnerability of the population (5.0 out of 10) and the lack of coping capacity (6.9 out of 10). A highly exposed but well-prepared country therefore gets a low overall score.
People Exposed Each Year
- 55,868to strong shaking (intensity VI and above)
- 19,205to destructive shaking (intensity VIII and above)
- 42to tsunamis
- 229,823to hurricane-force winds (category 1 and above)
- 73,518to river floods
- 40,591to coastal floods
Overall Risk Index Over Time
Hazard Levels
Hazard level assessed by ThinkHazard! (World Bank, GFDRR), meaning the likelihood of a damaging event, from very low to high.
- River FloodHigh
- Urban FloodHigh
- Coastal FloodHigh
- EarthquakeHigh
- LandslideHigh
- CycloneHigh
- Extreme HeatHigh
- WildfireHigh
- TsunamiMedium
- Water ScarcityMedium
Volcanoes
No volcano active over the last 10,000 years is recorded in this country.
Major Earthquakes Since 1900
Earthquakes that caused deaths or significant damage, or of magnitude 7.5 and above (NOAA).
Deadliest
- 2026Northern Venezuela · M 7.56,509 deaths
- 1967Venezuela · M 6.6300 deaths
- 1950El Tocuyo · M 6.4100 deaths
- 1997Cariaco-Cumana · M 7.081 deaths
- 1929Cumana · M 6.950 deaths
- 1900Macuto · M 7.725 deaths
Regions
Regions with volcanoes, major earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones or famous faults.
Tsunamis
4 major tsunamis have reached Venezuela since 1900. The deadliest and highest are listed below.
- 1900Tsunami (Venezuela) · 10.0 m
- 1929Tsunami (Venezuela) · 6.0 m
- 1997Tsunami (Venezuela) · 1.0 m
- 1967Tsunami (Venezuela) · 0.1 m
Tropical Cyclones
5 major tropical cyclones have made landfall in Venezuela since 1950. The deadliest and most powerful are listed below.
- 1988Hurricane Joan:miriam · 102 km/h
- 2017Tropical Storm Bret · 83 km/h
- 1974Tropical Storm Alma · 74 km/h
- 1993Tropical Storm Bret · 74 km/h
- 2002Hurricane Isidore · 46 km/h
Sources : Natural Earth · Wikidata · INFORM Risk Index (1 September 2026 v 0.7.3), Commission européenne, CC BY 4.0 · NOAA NCEI · ThinkHazard!, GFDRR, CC BY · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution