A Spectrum of Elastic and Inelastic Distributed Surface Deformation: Remote Observations of the 2026 Venezuela Earthquakes

Abstract

On 24 June 2026, moment magnitude (Mw) 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck northern Venezuela along the right-lateral Boconó and San Sebastián faults, initiating on land west of Morón. Intense shaking and damage, with preliminary subsurface slip estimates, indicate >215 km long, ∼70% offshore eastward rupture propagation, complicating understanding of the shallow rupture process. We investigate surface deformation near five coastal towns intersecting the fault through mapping and subpixel correlation of high-resolution (0.4–10 m) optical imagery. Near Morón, ∼0.78 m of fault-parallel displacement is distributed over >3 km without surface rupture. To the east, displacements increase within narrower zones along towns built on alluvium, from an average of 2.7 m within 69 m at Caraballeda tapering to an average of 0.3 m within 340 m at Camurí Grande. Despite >3 m displacement at Caraballeda, <300 m long discontinuous surface rupture was identified. Airport runway cracking between June 25 and 26 coincides with 0.1–0.2 m of secondary fault afterslip. Shear strains support primarily elastic surface deformation in the west above a fault slip deficit and permanent inelastic deformation consistent with plastic yielding above shallow fault slip in the east. These observations highlight the importance of characterizing distributed near-surface strain and material properties for understanding fault displacement hazard.