Practical guide · Lara
What to do if it shakes again
Barquisimeto and Cabudare sit on an active fault. What to prepare beforehand, what to do during the shaking and after, and whom to call in Lara.
Why it matters in Lara
Barquisimeto and Cabudare sit on the Boconó fault, one of the most active in Venezuela. The ground in each area changes how hard it shakes, which is why a seismic microzoning study was made of both cities.[1]
It has happened before. The earthquake of March 26, 1812, magnitude 7.1, destroyed Barquisimeto: about 1,000 people died, a quarter of the population.[2]
Both earthquakes of June 24, 2026 were felt in Lara. Civil Protection evacuated vulnerable buildings as a precaution and reported no victims or damage in the state.[3]
Card to keep
Take a screenshot or print it: it works without internet.
During
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Don’t run outside. Don’t use the elevator.
- In bed: stay there, pillow over your head.
After
- Expect aftershocks: drop, cover and hold on again.
- Damaged building: get out and don’t go back in.
- Gas: shut it off only if it smells, hisses or the meter spins.
- Text, don’t call.
- Trapped: whistle or knock, three times every few minutes.
Phone numbers
- VEN 911911
- Lara Civil Protection0251-25448890251-2543965
- Iribarren Fire Department (Barquisimeto)0251-23144750251-2317475
- Palavecino Fire Department (Cabudare) (check this number)0251-2614536
cabudare.com/en/terremoto/que-hacer · checked on September 29, 2026
Before
What you prepare today is what works when the ground shakes.
- Make a family plan. Decide who picks up the children, where you meet if you get separated and whom you call. Choose a contact who lives in another state: everyone tells that person they are safe.[4][6]
- Secure heavy things. Fasten bookcases, shelves, water heaters and TVs to the wall, and take down or secure lamps, plant pots and pictures that could fall.[4][6]
- Know how to shut off gas and water. Find the shutoff valves, learn to close them and keep the wrench or pliers you need right next to them.[5][6]
- Pick the safe spots. In each room, a sturdy table or desk, or an inside wall away from windows. Keep the exits clear.[6][9]
- Practice a couple of times a year. Run the “drop, cover and hold on” drill with the whole family, so it comes naturally when you need it.[7][8]
- If someone at home has a disability, prepare a card with their name, address, relatives’ phone numbers, type of disability, medicines and doses, blood type and allergies. They should always keep a whistle and the phone at hand.[6]
The emergency bag
One per family, ready to go and kept where everyone knows. Adapted to Venezuela: with blackouts, no card readers and the phone network down.
- Water: about 3.8 liters (one gallon) per person per day, for several days. It is for drinking and washing.[5]
Cabudare.com tip: Always keep it in the same place: in a blackout you will be looking for it in the dark.
- A phone charger and a charged power bank.[5]
Cabudare.com tip: Recharge it after every blackout.
- Daily medicines, copies of prescriptions and spare glasses.[5]
Cabudare.com tip: In small bills, in bolívares and dollars: without power there is no card reader and no pago móvil.
- A paper notebook with phone numbers and addresses of family, hospitals and authorities.[6]
Cabudare.com tip: If the phone dies, your contacts are stuck inside it.
- If there are babies or children: diapers, formula and a game or a book.[5]
- A paper map of the area.[5]
This list sends nothing: what you tick is saved only in this browser.
During
As soon as the shaking starts, without waiting to see if it is strong:
- Don’t run outside. Next to the outside walls is the most dangerous place: glass, facades and cornices fall. If you are inside, stay inside: don’t move more than 1.5 to 2 meters before dropping.[9][10]
- Stay away from windows, mirrors, tall furniture, TVs and anything hanging or likely to fall.[6][10]
- Don’t use the elevator, during the shaking or right after: it may be damaged.[7][10]
If you are not in a room
- In bed: stay there. Lie face down and cover your head and neck with the pillow until it stops.[4][9][10]
- In a wheelchair or with a walker: lock the brakes, bend over and cover your head and neck with your arms, a book or a pillow. Stay like that until it stops.[4][10]
- Driving: pull over and set the parking brake, away from bridges, overpasses and power lines. Stay inside with your seat belt on until it stops. If a power line falls on the car, don’t get out until someone trained arrives.[7][10]
- Outdoors: stay outside. Find an open space away from buildings, trees, poles and power lines, and drop until it stops.[4][7]
Myths that put you at risk
- A doorway does not protect you. In today’s houses it is no stronger than the rest, and it does not shield you from falling or flying objects. You are safer under a table.[8][9]
- The “triangle of life” is a mistake. It says to lie next to a piece of furniture instead of under it. Rescue experts consider it dangerous: it rests on false assumptions, such as always knowing where a gap will be left if the building falls.[9][12]
- Running outside is not safer. The ground is moving, it is easy to fall and outside, glass and pieces of facade come down.[8][9]
The only exception: if you are on the ground floor of an unreinforced adobe (mud-brick) house with a heavy roof, in construction built without engineering, try to get out quickly to an open space. Only in that case.[9]
After
- Expect aftershocks. Every time it shakes again, repeat: drop, cover and hold on.[13][14]
- If the building is damaged, get out. Move away from anything that could collapse and don’t go back in.[4][6]
- Shut off the gas only if there are signs of a leak: a gas smell, a hissing sound, a broken pipe or the meter spinning fast. Don’t light matches, candles or lighters, or flip switches, until you are sure there is no leak.[6][11][13]
- Check walls and columns. Diagonal cracks, sometimes crossing in an X, mean the quake damaged the building. Report them to Civil Protection or the mayor’s office, and ask an engineer or an architect.[15]
- If you are trapped: cover your mouth and nose against the dust. Blow the whistle or bang on a pipe or a wall, three times every few minutes, and send text messages. Shout only if you must.[4][6][11]
- Text, don’t call. Text messages get through better than calls. Tell your contact you are safe and leave the line free for emergencies.[4][11]
- Take care with water. Drink bottled, boiled or chlorine-treated water. Use the water stored in the heater and in clean tanks, and don’t flush the toilet until you know the sewage pipe is not broken.[6][16]
- Be careful with rubble. Wear a mask, gloves, closed shoes and, if you have them, a helmet and goggles. Don’t walk barefoot, and move rubble carefully: it may be holding something up.[6][16]
- Stay away from fallen power lines: treat them as if they were live.[11]
- With children: explain that aftershocks pass and that nobody is to blame. Keep regular meal and bed times, and breathe slowly together. If the fear doesn’t ease, seek psychological support.[7][16]
Whom to call in Lara
Tap a number to call. Write them down in the paper notebook in your bag too.
VEN 911
National emergency line.
Lara Civil Protection
Emergencies and damage assessment in the state.
Iribarren Fire Department (Barquisimeto)
Central station.
Palavecino Fire Department (Cabudare)
Emergency number the department publishes on its official profile.
Check this number. Source: the fire department’s official profile, with no publication date. Confirm it before you need it.
Giving without being scammed
After a tragedy, fake fundraisers appear. Warning signs:
- They rush you. Scammers want you to give right now, with no time to check.[17]
- They ask for an odd payment. They only take gift cards, Western Union or MoneyGram transfers, payment apps or cryptocurrency.[17]
- They thank you for something you didn’t do. If they say you already gave or pledged and you don’t remember it, stop and check.[17]
- Lots of emotion, few facts. Very sad stories, but nothing about how the money will be used.[17]
- Names and websites almost identical to those of well-known organizations, with one letter or web address changed.[17]
- Messages and fundraisers from strangers. The Better Business Bureau warned about text messages asking for help after the earthquakes, and about online fundraisers anyone can open: some money never reached the family.[18]
For children
How to prepare them and talk to them without scaring them.
- Practice the drill as a game, a couple of times a year: who can drop, cover and hold on first?[7][8]
- Pack the emergency bag together and let each child choose a toy or a book for it.[5][7]
- After a quake, explain in simple words that aftershocks pass and that nobody was to blame.[7]
- Breathe slowly together, like blowing up a balloon, and keep regular meal and bed times.[7]
To read with them: “What do I do if it shakes?” on Cabudare Kids
This guide sums up official and expert advice, each item with its source. In an emergency, follow the instructions of Civil Protection and the fire department.
Sources
- 1.Schmitz y otros, revista GEOMINAS (vol. 48, n.º 81), Resultados e implementación de la microzonificación sísmica de Barquisimeto y Cabudare, Venezuela (Apr 2020).
- 2.La Prensa de Lara, Se cumplen 76 años del último gran terremoto en Lara (Aug 3, 2026).
- 3.El Impulso, Protección Civil Lara desplegada tras fuerte sismo: no se reportan daños materiales ni víctimas en la entidad (Jun 24, 2026).
- 4.Ready.gov (FEMA, Gobierno de EE. UU.), Terremotos.
- 5.Ready.gov (FEMA, Gobierno de EE. UU.), Prepare un kit de suministros (Mar 12, 2026).
- 6.FUNVISIS (Fundación Venezolana de Investigaciones Sismológicas), Manual de autoprotección en caso de sismos.
- 7.UNICEF, Información de seguridad en caso de terremoto.
- 8.El Gran ShakeOut, Agacharse, cubrirse y agarrarse.
- 9.Earthquake Country Alliance, How to protect yourself during an earthquake (Sep 18, 2023).
- 10.Earthquake Country Alliance, Paso 5: Agáchese, cúbrase y sujétese.
- 11.Earthquake Country Alliance, Step 6: Improve safety (Jul 24, 2023).
- 12.Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico (Universidad de Puerto Rico en Mayagüez), Triangle of Life.
- 13.Cruz Roja Americana, Earthquake safety.
- 14.Servicio Geológico de EE. UU. (USGS), M 7.5 - 20 km W of Catia La Mar, Venezuela: aftershock forecast (Sep 28, 2026).
- 15.CENAPRED (Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres, México), #Preventips. Identifica daños en tu vivienda.
- 16.Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS/OMS), Terremotos.
- 17.Comisión Federal de Comercio de EE. UU. (FTC), Antes de hacer donaciones a una organización de caridad (Nov 18, 2025).
- 18.Telemundo Área de la Bahía (con el Better Business Bureau), Alertan sobre estafas relacionadas con la ayuda a Venezuela (Jun 26, 2026).
- 19.Bomberos de Iribarren (cuenta oficial en Instagram), Bomberos de Iribarren promueve cultura de prevención (números de emergencia) (Apr 13, 2026).
- 20.Cuerpo de Bomberos Palavecino (cuenta oficial en Instagram), Perfil: «Número de Emergencia: 0251-2614536».
- 21.Bomberos Palavecino (cuenta en X), Perfil de la cuenta.