On June 24, 2026, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northern Venezuela, followed less than a minute later by a magnitude 7.5 mainshock. Collectively, the earthquakes left immense damage and loss of life across the region. In the following days, satellite land displacement maps revealed how the Earth’s surface was moving, providing information about the forces behind the severe destruction in places like La Guaira and other coastal cities in the state of La Guaira.

This map was produced using data from the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite and processed by the NISAR science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The scientists used a technique called InSAR, which compares data from repeated passes to detect subtle changes in the distance between the satellite and Earth. Images acquired on June 25 and 30, after the earthquakes, were compared to images from June 13 and 18, before the earthquakes.

NISAR views the Earth at an angle of about 40 degrees from below, allowing it to capture a combination of horizontal and vertical scrolling. On this map, the red areas show where the ground moved east and up; the blue areas moved west and down. However, because the earthquake occurred on a strike-slip fault, most of the displacement shown on this map was horizontal (east and west).

White areas indicate little or no land displacement, including a thin strip near the center-left of the scene, near Morón, marking approximately where the fault ruptured at depth. The fault is part of a network of fractures that lies along the boundary between the Caribbean plate to the north and the South American plate to the south. Scientists say that faults along this plate boundary, including the San Sebastián fault system where these earthquakes likely occurred (and possibly part of the Boconó system), have been building up stress for a long time.

The fault rupture propagated out to sea, eastward, and then back to the coast near the international airport north of Caracas, marked by the narrow white band visible between the westward and eastward shift. Just south of this section of the fault, the deep blue color indicates that westward surface displacement along this part of the fault was much greater than elsewhere, reaching up to 60 centimeters (24 in).

“These are the reasons why the damage in Caracas and La Guaira was so extreme,” said Eric Fielding, a JPL geophysicist who provided the maps. “InSAR tells us a lot about what happened during this earthquake.”

Using the NISAR data, the U.S. Geological Survey refined its fault slip model, or “finite fault model,” to better constrain how the fault slipped at depth, including along the eastern section of the rupture. “That’s extremely helpful for people who need to understand why the damage was so severe in that area,” Fielding said.

Displacement maps for this event were provided through NISAR’s Urgent Response (UR) system, a rapid process that can deliver data within 12 to 24 hours to support disaster response. Rapid processing is based on predicted orbital information, so UR maps are preliminary until later reprocessed with accurate orbital information, usually within a day or two. This is the first time that the NISAR UR system has been used to map surface displacement due to a large earthquake.

NASA Earth Observatory map by Lauren Dauphin, using data provided by Eric Fielding and processed by the NISAR science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Story by Kathryn Hansen.

• NASA (2025, July 23) Interferometry. Accessed July 9, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory, (September 15, 2025) Kamchatka Earthquake Displacement Mapping. Accessed July 9, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory, (April 15, 2025) Satellite data shows movement of Burma earthquakes. Accessed July 9, 2026.
• NASA Disaster Mapping Portal (2026, July 9) Venezuela Earthquake June 2026. Accessed July 9, 2026.
• United States Geological Survey (2026, June 24) M 7.2 – 21 km ENE of San Felipe, Venezuela. Accessed July 9, 2026.
• United States Geological Survey (2026, June 24) M 7.5 – 20 km ESE of Yumare, Venezuela. Accessed July 9, 2026.