The deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela have reignited the debate about seismic risk in the region and raised an unavoidable question in Paraguay: could the country be affected by an event of similar magnitude? For specialists interviewed by ABC Color, the answer is reassuring from a geological standpoint but concerning when it comes to structural preparedness.
According to geologist Diego López, head of the Seismology Laboratory at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (Facen) of the National University of Asunción, the violent earthquake in Venezuela had a strictly local tectonic cause. In that region, the Caribbean Plate moves laterally relative to the South American Plate, a constant interaction that builds stress until it generates fractures and high-magnitude seismic events. The event was classified as a "seismic doublet," with two tremors measuring between 7.1 and 7.5 in magnitude, separated by just 39 seconds.
Paraguay's geological reality, however, is radically different. Professor López explains that the country has low to moderate seismicity, owing to its geographic position far from the boundaries of active tectonic plates, situated in an intraplate region in the center of the continent. The most significant earthquake recorded in Paraguay occurred in 1982, with its epicenter in Bajo Chaco and a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale, felt strongly in the Asunción metropolitan area. The last relevant event was documented in 1989, with a magnitude of 5.6. Since then, only minor tremors have been recorded.
Despite the low geological risk, the head of the Seismology Laboratory warns that Paraguay is not prepared to face even a moderate earthquake. Urban infrastructure, emergency protocols, and civic education all lack any preventive anti-seismic focus. The absence of recent high-magnitude records has pushed the issue off the public agenda, and structural forecasting remains an outstanding matter in the country.