CONVERSATORIO VIRTUAL: “SISMOS 2026: LECCIONES Y FUTURO AMBIENTAL”

[cough]

[clears throat]

[clears throat]

José Alejandro hasn't connected yet.

Well, we have time.

Several people are telling me that they are

clicking on the

platform link and nothing is happening.

from YouTube.

Yes, the guys who are in the group. Did

you hear that, José Michel?

It seems the link isn't activated, that's what they

tell me.

Ah, but that one, Michel. You have to

look there. I don't know, activation.

[laughs]

Good.

Good evening.

My name is Carlos Peñalosa Corredor.

I am a postgraduate professor at UNET and I

will have the honor of accompanying you as

moderator during this

academic day.

On behalf of the postgraduate dean's office of the

National Experimental University of

Táchira,

we extend a warm welcome to the

virtual discussion "Earthquakes 2026,

Lessons and Environmental Future."

This event is being broadcast

live on our

YouTube channel @posgradounet

2025.

We extend a special greeting to the

university authorities,

the distinguished panelists

joining us, the professors,

researchers, and students,

as well as the professionals in

engineering,

architecture, and

environmental sciences,

community representatives, and the

general public

who have connected from various

locations to participate in this

event.

This discussion

is an initiative of the

Dean of Postgraduate Studies and the

Specialization

in Environmental Impact Studies and Assessment

, with the support of the Department

of Civil Engineering at the

National Experimental University of Táchira.

Their organization

responds to the need to analyze,

from an

interdisciplinary

and socially responsible scientific perspective,

the seismic events that have occurred

recently and the lessons they

leave for our communities.

Throughout the day,

the seismic phenomenon will be examined from

different closely

related dimensions.

The interventions will allow us to move

from its scientific and

geological explanation to its

structural,

environmental and educational implications,

thus providing a comprehensive view

on risk prevention and management

.

The holding of this discussion

also reflects the university's commitment

to

specialized training,

the dissemination of knowledge,

and addressing the problems that

affect its environment.

The university not only studies

reality, but must also

contribute to interpreting it,

communicating it,

and generating capacities to face its

challenges responsibly.

Regarding the dynamics of this event, it will feature

the participation of five

panelists,

each of whom will have a

maximum of 15 minutes to develop their

presentation. We invite

those following the broadcast to

ask their questions through the

YouTube channel chat during the

presentations.

Once the five

interventions are completed,

we will present the

selected questions to the specialists

and begin the exchange session

with the audience, which will last

20 minutes.

We thank our panelists for

accepting this invitation

and generously sharing their

knowledge and experiences.

Likewise, we express our

gratitude to the university departments

that made this activity possible and to

each of the people who are with us today

.

Welcome to the virtual discussion "

Earthquakes 2026,

Lessons and Environmental Future".

Next,

we invite Dr. Miguel Ángel García

Porras, dean of postgraduate studies at the

National Experimental University of

Táchira, to address

our audience.

Thank you very much, Dr. Carlos Peañalosa.

I am extremely grateful for

the collaboration of

Professor Marianela Vera for this event, who

really went out of her way to make this

activity the best it could be.

collaborators from the

postgraduate dean's office through the

specialization in

environmental impact assessment and also from the

civil engineering department of

our university.

This is an event that arises from

the recent problems of

seismic movements that have occurred in our

country and that have left a very

deep mark and with many

regrets, let's say, where

more than 5000 people

have really lost their lives

. I think we've all

shed tears over this event, and it's really

sad to see

all these images that have just been

published.

Earthquakes around the world have had

very strong repercussions,

mainly in Chile and Japan.

Perhaps these are the most emblematic sites

that have suffered [clearing their throats]

from these

telluric calamities.

Well, I'm not really an expert

in the area,

but since it's an academic activity

and quite current,

[clears throat] I've given my approval for

this activity to take place.

The event, as they have perfectly

mentioned,

Earthquakes 2026, injuries and

environmental future.

It's an event that [clears throat] brings together

top-level professionals to

give us their respective comments and

explanations, so that

we at least have more

information about it.

I would like to

thank all the professors

in the civil engineering department who

are participating in this activity,

and especially, as I said at the

beginning, Professor María Danela

Vera, who has been a fundamental pillar for

this activity to take place.

For my part, I extend the warmest

welcome and hope

that we all leave satisfied at the end

of the presentations.

Dr. Carlos Peñarosa, you may continue.

Well, we thank Dr. Miguel Ángel

García Porra for his words and for the

institutional support of the dean's office in

holding this meeting.

To begin this discussion,

we will address the seismic dimension

through the presentation entitled The Science

Behind the Shaking.

For its development, we are accompanied by

Master Nerio Hurtado.

Hurtado is a civil engineer, graduated from

the University of Zulia, with a

master's degree dedicated to the

seismic-resistant structural design of buildings and

bridges. This comprehensive career path has been

combined with project management,

university teaching,

and private consulting, giving her

a holistic view of the

complete cycle of civil works, from

highly complex mathematical modeling

to the inspection and

evaluation of civil works.

Magíst Hurtado, welcome to this

discussion.

From this moment on, you have the

floor and you have 15 minutes to

develop your presentation.

Please allow me a moment to make the

presentation.

The presentation is already here.

Yes, it looks perfectly

fine. Okay.

Good evening to the authorities of

the National Experimental University of

Táchir,

to the postgraduate dean, to the

criminal law colleagues and panelists, and to the entire

student and professional community that is

joining us in this

virtual discussion.

The recent seismic events that

shook the La Guaira region

last month have left a deep

human and technical mark on us.

And in those, those traces they leave on

us have created many doubts and

many questions.

Among those questions, the ones

we ask ourselves or that people

have asked, are, for example, why are there

two exactly identical buildings

located next to each other? It did not collapse

drastically and the other remained

practically intact.

Also, how is it possible to build

safely on soft or

waterlogged ground where the soil seems to

tragically disappear in the face of such

events?

How does a structure respond when it

has to withstand not one, but two

consecutive earthquakes

that strike it from different directions?

And ultimately, what is the best

solution that engineering offers us?

Uh, I'm engineer Neri Hurtado and in

the next 12 minutes I'm going to

show you that the answer to these

questions is not a matter of chance or bad

luck, it's strictly physical laws

and understanding these laws is what

we call the science behind

shaking. Let

's start where all

buildings begin: with the land.

There is a popular belief that

earthquakes affect everyone equally in the

same area.

Science shows us the opposite

through the site effect.

When seismic waves travel

through deep rock, they go

faster. On compact rocky terrain, the

wave travels faster, but with little

amplitude.

But when it enters soft strata,

as is the case there in La Guaira, or

clayey, sandy terrains,

like those that abound there in La Guaira,

the wave slows down, the wave is slower

in speed, but its amplitude increases,

as can be seen here in general terms.

In rocky, solid, and well-

consolidated terrain, the

seismic wave moves at high speeds, while

in soft terrain it moves at

slow speeds, but the

amplitude of the wave is small in the rocky terrain and

greater in soft terrain.

Therefore, in these types of soil, the

wave slows down, but due to

conservation of energy, it

violently multiplies its amplitude. Added to this is

a critical phenomenon in this type of

salary. Uh, these types of terrains

that are granular and saturated

with water. The cyclical shaking of

the Earth causes an increase in the pressure in

the water that is in the

spaces. Uh, [clears throat] and these

spaces, when pressed, release the

water, they become empty and that's where the soil loses its

load-bearing or support capacity

.

So what is the

engineering answer?

If we have land with a risk of

liquefaction

or soft clays, then a

direct foundation using footings or foundation slabs

is destined to overturn.

The only solution for this type of

terrain is to make

deep foundations, in this case of the pile type,

until it reaches the

solid, rocky, hard stratum that is capable of

withstanding the actions required by the

building [clearing his throat] as a support.

Why did one building collapse and the one next to it

not?

We arrive at the great enigma that reveals and

unravels the population. That's the big

question we all ask ourselves when

we see those images. Therefore, the

technical answer lies in

seismic tuning. That's what we call

resonance in seismics.

Each building, each building according to its

height, mass and rigidity, has a

rhythm, its own rhythm to balance,

which we call the natural period of the

building. So, the natural period

of the building is the time it takes for a

building to swing from one

end to the other and complete

that cycle. So, that's what

we call the natural period of

vibration.

If the earthquake that passes through the ground brings

a wave whose period coincides

exactly with the period of the building,

the phenomenon of resonance occurs. In other words,

what I mean is that if this wave

takes the same time to travel from one

end to the other and it coincides with the

building's time, the building will

resonate and there's no way it won't

collapse. It's a building that's going to

collapse, without a doubt.

Uh, the forces not only add up when

this happens, but they multiply

exponentially when it

resonates.

For example, if two identical twin buildings

are on the same ground, but there is a

subtle variation in the floor

where one building is supported

compared to the other, or if one of them

has some architectural modification

that changed its rigidity, one will

resonate and collapse, while the

other will barely feel the earthquake.

Furthermore, earthquakes there do

n't come alone. There was an initial

event that damaged the microstructure

of the concrete and caused

cracking of the components. When

the second consecutive earthquake or

aftershock occurs in the orthogonal direction, it

attacks a structure whose period has already been

lengthened by previous damage, leading

these buildings to

final collapse, if they were not designed with

sufficient redundancy, that is, with

high resistance.

Well, then, faced with these

seismic forces, which are what make the

building

sway because the ground

moves the structure from one side to

the other in one direction. Faced with

these horizontal forces,

how do we design?

How do we design the building's skeleton

? be the structure of the

building.

Here, engineering is torn between

two major philosophies: ductility or

rigidity. Ductility, the ability to

deform. Rigidity, the ability to

deform without losing strength.

In framed systems there are

framed systems like the one we

are seeing here, beams, beams and

columns made of concrete or steel. And

these systems are based on the

same principle as

a vehicle's chassis, which, when it suffers

an impact from a collision, deforms

at strategic points to dissipate the

enormous energy generated by the impact,

but the vehicle's passenger compartment, for

example, remains intact; there is no damage to the

vehicle. No, that's what happens, that's what

engineering tries to do, creating

those fuses that are generated

here in the beam and that are not

generated in the column, which is what

we call the plastic hinge,

so that the beam fails and

the column does not fail, because if the

column fails, well, the building collapses. We

also have shear wall systems

. or tunnel, uh, tunnel of

perpendicular walls, right?, which are very commonly

used, by the way, in Chile. Uh, and

that system is based on rigidity.

It uses continuous reinforced concrete walls

to resist displacement almost to zero

, that is, it allows

very minimal displacement, which is what

displacement control, which

we call drift in

engineering, is all about, right? It provides

extraordinary protection to the

partition walls and finishes, friezes,

although it absorbs very

high forces and that requires that the foundations

be very robust when on

hard soils, this type of building

is founded on a foundation slab of

up to 1 meter or more in thickness. And if it's

on soft ground, then they

are headers of considerable height

. And we also have another

system which is the steel system with

anchors,

concentric anchors or

eccentric anchors, concentric ones that are right in

the center and eccentric ones that are

a little bit away from the center. Uh,

those arresters are what will

function like a rifle, like these

fuses, that is, when the earthquake comes,

they will absorb the vibration and

deform, but after the earthquake they

can be removed and replaced by

another system, by other

arresters.

Which one is the best? Well, there isn't a

single system among these that we can

say is superior. The best

system

is one whose design considers the ground on which

the building rests, respects the

criteria of regularity

and ductile detailing, because what

we seek in engineering is a

ductile failure, not a brittle failure that is

explosive and leads to

immediate collapse.

To conclude my remarks in this

discussion,

I want to leave a central message

for our entire audience and the

academic community of UNECT. The

primary objective of

earthquake-resistant engineering

is not to build an

infinitely rigid building that doesn't move,

because the force of nature

will always overcome the brutal resistance

of the materials. The real objective

is to design an intelligent,

ductile, well-founded structure that is capable

of deforming, dissipating energy and

remaining standing, thus guaranteeing that

people can evacuate alive.

Disasters like those in La Guaira

shouldn't be attributed to fate, should they?

Well, integration—

rigorously integrating

geotechnical studies,

dynamic analysis, and ethics in construction—

are the guarantees that our

cities will be truly

resilient.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much,

Engineer Nerioado, for your input.

Once we have examined

the fundamentals of the seismic phenomenon,

we will move on

to the geological context

that allows us to understand its manifestation

in Venezuelan territory.

To develop the presentation The faults

of Venezuela

we are accompanied by the geological engineer José

Alejandro Sequera.

José Alejandro Sequera is a

geological engineer and professor in the

civil engineering department of the

National Experimental University of Táchira,

where he is involved in

teaching applied geology. His

field of expertise includes the

geological and geotechnical analysis of the

territory.

Engineer Sequera, we appreciate your

participation. We

give you the floor to develop

your presentation during the next

15 minutes.

Go ahead,

professor.

José Alejandro,

microphone.

Okay, now I'm ready.

Yes, good afternoon. Thank you for the

invitation to this discussion.

Interesting,

considering the situation we have been

experiencing in the last few months.

So, the topic I'm going to address is

facing failures. That's a very

complicated issue, very low

minimum

for biological resources to remain available, they

are

simply

the result

of an action of effort that can be

both pressure

and separation

in a material. That's why there are

several types

of failure.

The following line

is

simply the definition.

In the previous one we have, right now there is the

model, those of the most frequent types of failure

,

such as the one where

the block slides over the other

block, it is called the

low-speed failure due to the effect of compression. In the

case of the failure, the same applies, but

the other one rises, which would be the one where

the block that suffers compression breaks or divides.

In our case, what we have

in recent events

is a

transcurrent fault that moves from one side to the

other due to the same conditions

. Let's

continue.

Uh, faults are precisely a product of

the movements we have in the entire

lithosphere. It is composed of a series of

floating plates.

The lithosphere is relatively rigid and the

stenosphere is relatively plastic.

All these

blocks,

as we're calling them, are plates, they

float on material, and remember that

they talked

about the theory of

Earth's migration, it's precisely that the

blocks separated due to

the movement of the

entire lithosphere around the Earth. That's all.

In Martian

studies, apparently there was some

plate movement, but that's where the change in

the Earth's plate structure ended, and that's why there's

approximately

14 or 15 large plates and almost 40

small plates that move all the

time. Uh, these ones we're talking about are,

let's say, the main ones.

Let's move on to the next one. L.

Uh, what we were able to do here was to draw

attention

to the plates that really

concern us, the ones that cause us the most

problems, which are the contact between the

South American plate and the Caribbean plate, if you

see it there I have marked with a

black line, because that is where we have

had

all the problems.

last.

They see how plates,

both the North American Plate

and the Cocos Plate, reach us there, causing a

lot of problems in Panama

because look

where all that Caribbean Plate, the

Cocos Plate, and the Caribbean Plate converge. We have a problem

because to the north the

Caribbean Plate moves towards the North American

Plate, which moves westwards. That's why

we have an

east-west contact guideline from the Caribbean here in

South America.

We continue

there, calling from the FR, which is precisely

contact between the two here in the Caribbean,

America. If you look within the

delimitation, those two plates take into account

the important faults

that bother us the most because that happens

precisely in North and South America,

more seriously in

Venezuela, which is up there.

So I've been saying that a

fault within

a contact zone is not a

line, it's a

plane, a line

of fractures and cracks that logically become

faults, but it's a fault in all

cases

of San Sebastián. These are fault systems that

allow, in quotes, that

movement between the Caribbean and

South American plates. That means we have

measured

five per

year that can be more expensive.

We can see the next one.

That's

showing more attention to the strip. That

strip can be up to 100 km wide.

What is the strip, the two plates. Uh,

notice that the plate

in the case has been

measured from the system failure of

the body of the failure, the contact between two

rocks has been

measured and up to km.

of the fault. Imagine the entire

set

of system failures with

the

important pillar.

We can continue.

Here, the fault system shows

a bit of

the system

that

we are in,

and of course, there in

the area you see a significant number of

faults that make up the

fault system of that area. We continue.

That's a risk

that always gets the

red zone, which coincides with all of us who

have been there.

Unfortunately, circumstantially,

eh,

history, climate, etc. Those are the

areas where we are most

likely to have a problem

. Let's

continue.

That's more or less what it's about, the

contact of the

board, the contact of the board

ahead, let's see another graphic. These

are the contacts. That's the plate

problem in the north: there are two plates

next to that dotted area where there is

the greatest energy that is released and

through which

the other one is produced.

That's what we just

saw. You see

how

this fault is simply the same,

but this is a connection to what is the

Pacific,

the famous fault of that movement.

We have always spoken of Andrés

as very important, if it is important that

we have in good condition, it has

the only thing that in the case of the Pacific and

North American plates are much larger

than that of the plate of good condition is

important.

We can continue.

It's a deal based on

confidential studies, what happened in La Guaira on the

9th when the avalanches occurred,

but that gives it so much name, the flow of up to

Vada

apparently

is a term that in Madher

Someone told him that it was that of event.

Uh, the amount

that was done around '99. It made an

aluminum fill,

uh, which they see as the fault,

which I've already mentioned, passes

underneath everything that I know was there.

Well, logically

nothing is wrong with it. What I mean is

that in the case of a movement

like the one that occurred, the

material used to construct the building can

lead to a phenomenon

that has apparently been discussed,

and that's why there were so many buildings

in that

area, because the sudden movement

that probably occurred affected

the material where those

foundations were located, and that's where it produced...

those are theories that can

practically be validated with all the

past events, and that's more or less why I'm

drawing attention to it. It

can have a connection with all the events I've

previously

mentioned;

there are many more that can be expanded upon.

Uh, we're at your service for any questions you may have,

and thank you very much for the opportunity to

introduce myself to you.

We thank

engineer José Sequera for the

shared information.

We remind the audience that they can

ask their questions via the

YouTube chat. These questions will be

collected, passed on to the

panelists, and at the end of the

presentations they will provide answers.

Okay, once

the geological context has been examined, it's time to

consider how these phenomena

can affect our buildings. I now give

the floor

to engineer Simón Vallesteros,

who will speak about structural pathology:

your house and your safe community.

Simón Vallesteros is a civil engineer and

professor in the civil engineering department

of the National

Experimental University of Táchira.

Participated in the analysis and development

of road, transport and

infrastructure projects of regional importance

and construction pathology of the works.

This discussion

will address building safety

and the preventive identification of damage

after a seismic event. Engineers

Ballesteros, it is an honor to have you here

. You

may begin your presentation

and have 15 minutes to present

the proposed topic.

Good evening. I thank the

organizing committee of this discussion and

especially the two professors who spoke

before me because they have captured

exactly

half of the problem that brings us together today

. The first presentation, from a

symbolic perspective, characterizes the threat,

the seismic source, the recurrence of

events, and the nature of the

ground movement.

And the second, from geology,

shows us the medium over which

the movement is transmitted and amplified,

the soils, the site effects that

make the same earthquake not shake

two buildings

separated by a street in the same way. My intervention

closes this equation.

Seismic risk is the product of the threat that has

already been discussed due to the vulnerability

of what we build on that land.

I am a specialist in

structural pathology, a discipline that studies the

damage and injury of buildings,

their causes and their evolution. And in the

next few minutes I want to transfer to you

a specific skill: reading the

signs that a house manifests

after a sign. Distinguishing between a

superficial injury and a

structural injury, and knowing when that reading

requires leaving and calling a

specialist professional in the area. Let's

see,

every reading of damages begins by

distinguishing

two elements, or rather,

categories of elements. On one side, the

system that resists,

that which receives the loads

and conducts them, will conduct them to

the ground. In our homes, this

system is made up of

columns, beams, slabs, and

foundations.

And if there are walls, those

load-bearing walls, these elements will define

the path of those loads. They will start in

the slabs; the weight and forces

of the earthquake travel from the slab to the beam,

from the beam to the column, and from the column

to my foundation. On the other hand, there are the

non-structural elements, which are the

partitions or walls, the friezes,

the finishes such as, that is, the

coverings, ceramics, granite,

etc., and the ceilings accompany

the structure,

they deform with it and that is why they are usually

the first to crack, to

fissure, but no, that does not

mean that they will support it.

From this distinction derives the first

diagnostic criterion

that I want you to remember.

Severe damage to a partition or

wall is a repair problem.

Okay?

It's a repair problem.

The hierarchy of the affected element

weighs more than the appearance of the damage. We must

distinguish what supports from what does

not. It is [snort] the basis of everything

else.

However, cracking is the most

frequent symptom we will see after

an earthquake and it is also the worst

interpreted. [snort] In structural pathology we

don't diagnose

only by the width of the opening, but

by three variables.

Where is? What orientation does it have? And

what morphology does

[snort] present in the column we see here?

The green one that is generally non-

structural. The cracks

appear in a frieze,

okay? As we can see here in the figure, there is

cracking in the masonry. They

are in non-structural elements,

[snort] eh they require repair, but it

is not a sign of evacuation.

In the next column, under the

structural signal that needs attention,

there are three signs of compromise of the

resistant system. First, the

cracks that appear there in the

column show me a

shear failure. [snort] The

fragli rupture mechanism that worries us the most

.

Second, the crumbling of the

concrete,

the loss of coating,

and third, the exposed and bulging steel.

That indicates that the core of that element has

already worked beyond its capacity. The

operating rule in these cases is the location

and orientation of the crack. They are

more important than their size. A

1 mm angled crack in a column is more

serious than a 1 cm crack in a

wall.

[snort]

Damages

are not an all-or-nothing matter. There is

progression by degrees and

international post-seismic assessment methodologies

classify them on scales such as those we

see here: minor,

moderate, severe, complete. The

minor degree of cracking is limited

to finishes, non-structural elements,

or in this case, structural elements, but

the concrete suffers minimal damage; it peels, but does

not disintegrate. In moderate degrees

we see visible cracking that

affects some elements of the

resistant system. In this case,

the property presented here needs or

warrants a technical review before

giving it full confidence. in

severe damage, severe severity, spatial collapse

with risk of collapse and in the

full degree. Ah, okay, it's partial

and we have to evict him

completely. It is important to understand that

the degree of damage is not determined by the

perception of the person who is

there, but is confirmed by a

technical evaluation.

[snort]

There is a set of conditions that do not

allow for deliberation.

If they are present, they are evacuated

and assessed afterwards. The building is

leaning, there are large cracks or

visible trusses, there are

loose walls, the doors are

warped.

Okay. There are diagonal cracks larger than 5

mm.

Any of these five conditions

creates a risk of collapse.

When in doubt, there is only one correct course of action

. You have to go out and

you have to request a

professional evaluation.

After a seismic event,

technical agencies deploy a

rapid habitability assessment.

[snort][throat clearing]

As a result,

three tags are communicated. It is essential

to understand what each one means and, above

all, what it does not mean. The green label

means that the dwelling is

habitable.

Uh, it doesn't mean there's nothing to

repair, there may be minor damage

pending. The yellow tag,

[snort]

there is restricted access, there is

limited entry and for a short time, uh,

typically for removing belongings. It doesn't

mean it's safe to stay and live

there. And the red tag means no access

allowed. And note, it does not mean that

the building is irreparable, it

means that its current state is not

safe, and the decision about its

future corresponds to a very

detailed evaluation. Subsequently, a principle

that should not be negotiated is that the

label is placed by the accredited inspection body

. Nobody self-evaluates

a home, neither to condemn it nor to

absorb it. Rapid assessment is

a technical act with consequences for

human lives.

In structural pathology, not only do they

diagnose years, they identify the

existing conditions that make them

probable in our environment and we

basically visualize it right now with

the earthquake of June 24, there are

four recurring configurations

that an earthquake takes its toll on.

The first one, the short column.

The column shortens

when a sill or high window

partially restricts a column; the

free cement becomes short and rigid.

It concentrates the shear stress demand

and fails in a brittle manner before

the rest of the structure.

In the second case, that of a soft floor,

the ground floor of a building

is generally intended for commerce or

parking

and creates an irregularity of rigidity in

elevation. [snort]

There is a level that is noticeably more flexible

than the upper ones, where

the deformation is concentrated and which tends to collapse

first. This mechanism is

behind many of the collapses we saw

in La Guaira.

extensions without calculation. Uh, each

level added uh on top of a structure

that was designed to receive it

increases its weight [snort] and with

it creates the force, I mean, not only does it

create seismic force, it also

increases. In addition to introducing

irregularities that the original design

does not contemplate. And the fourth

scenario is building without a

geotechnical study. Here he returns to the point

that

the best structural design

may be the best of the

best, but it does not compensate for a foundation

supported on soil whose behavior

is unknown.

What is the fundamental solution?

Earthquake-resistant design. And it is worth clarifying his

philosophy. Why is it often misunderstood?

An earthquake-resistant building or structure

is not designed to not

move or not get damaged. It is

designed to deform, to

dissipate energy and even cause damage,

but without losing its ability to

support itself. The performance objective is

one: to avoid collapse in order to protect

life.

And a word of caution about the part where

structures are repaired,

because that's my area of ​​expertise.

Repairing without technical expertise can leave

the structure in worse condition than

before. Repairing a crack

with mortar is cosmetic, it's not a

repair. Hiding the symptom without

restoring the element's resistance capacity

. Structural repair

requires a prior diagnosis and its

priority is not to erase the

remnant marks, but to ensure that the

structure regains its strength and

rigidity. Prevention, gentlemen, begins

with design, not in the emergency.

And to conclude, I

hope we take

the following into account. One, distinguish what

supports from what does not. That is the first

filter of any diagnosis.

Uh, two, recognize the signs that

compel you to leave.

Those are not up for debate. And three, act

prudently and prepare conscientiously.

The evaluation is done by the professionals,

but the first reading is yours.

My contacts are on the screen, okay? And there's the one from

the

Civil Engineering department's email.

Um, I want to say, on behalf of the three

professors

from the Department of

Seismic Engineering, Geology and Pathology,

we are completely at your service for

any consultation, evaluation or

technical support that you or your

community may need. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much,

engineer Simón Vallesteros, for your

guidance.

The analysis

of the buildings now leads us

to an equally

relevant dimension.

the environmental consequences

following a seismic event.

For this purpose,

Dr. Marianela Vera will come,

focusing on the environmental impact

the day after the disaster.

Marianela Vera

is an engineer and PhD specializing in

environmental management and impact with several

years of experience as an

environmental consultant and certified auditor.

In addition to being a university professor in the

environmental field, she currently serves

as head of the

postgraduate program, specialization,

studies and environmental impact assessment

at UNET.

Okay, we remind the audience that

they can submit their questions to the

YouTube chat as each of the

speakers develops their

presentations.

Dr. Vera, thank you for joining us.

You now have the floor and

15 minutes to present

your talk.

Well, thank you Professor Carlos for that

presentation

and good evening to everyone

present.

In this section, as you already

announced, I invite everyone present

at this discussion to

reflect on a

fundamental question. that we tend to overlook

in times of crisis. What happens to

the environment after an earthquake? Because

we already know, from our point of

view, all the tragedies

that human beings experience. But what about

the rest of the environment? When

an earthquake occurs, the

immediate focus is on the

visible structural damage, as

all our previous

speakers, especially Professor

Simón, have already pointed out. But today we want to talk about the day

after the disaster, about that

silent environmental crisis that is being unleashed

and how we must prepare to

face it.

Well, first of all, of

course, to address this issue it is

key to solidify the concept of what

environmental impact is, right? defined as

the change in the environment, adverse or

beneficial, resulting from an activity

that interacts with and produces effects on the

environment.

Of course, in this case

, the changes were more

adverse than beneficial, weren't they? Uh,

when an earthquake shakes a region,

the environment suffers

severe disturbances. and immediate. The soil,

water sources, and

local ecosystems are drastically altered. The

premise of this presentation is that

we understand that the

environmental consequences do not end when the Earth

stops shaking. On the contrary,

they generate aftereffects that last for

months and even years.

As we see in these images,

after an earthquake, the

priority and indisputable attention is focused on

the human emergency. Yes. Saving lives,

searching for survivors, and stabilizing

structures that pose an

imminent danger. However, in

parallel, it is vital to activate a rapid

assessment of the environmental impacts.

Because? Because if we ignore

broken pipes, accumulated waste,

or exposed or released toxic substances

, we risk

triggering a second crisis—

a local health and ecological emergency

that will deepen the suffering of

the affected community.

Sorry.

Okay, let's analyze the first

affected element, which is the air. The collapse

of these buildings generates a

dense cloud of suspended dust that

causes acute respiratory problems,

but the danger goes beyond the

ground, doesn't it? From the [clearing of the throat]

fine earth, from the dust, because there are many

old buildings, very old buildings that

release highly dangerous substances

such as asphalt and lead.

Additionally, here gas leaks,

collateral fires, and the

organic decomposition that begins to occur

under the rubble contaminate the

atmosphere with harmful gases and bad

odors. Finally, the structures that

remain standing with moisture damage become

breeding grounds for

mold and spores that seriously affect

public health, right? Yes.

Because it affects the entire

respiratory system. Uh-huh

. And what about water resources?

Yes, water resources. Here the impact is

usually catastrophic.

Fractures in water and

sewer systems cause

cross-contamination, where wastewater and

fecal matter mix with

drinking water,

increasing the risk of

epidemic outbreaks such as

cholera, hepatitis, and gastroenteritis.

Severe. In addition, we observed high

sedimentation in rivers due to the runoff of

mud and fine debris, as well as the

leaching of household chemicals and

hydrocarbons into

underground aquifers. In coastal areas,

as in the case of what happened there in La

Guaira or in the Basins, the

inadequate disposal of debris, the much-

mentioned debris that we have

heard about there, right? This, and

the landslides block all

the rivers, uh, they form hazardous lagoons

and destroy

aquatic ecosystems.

Well, and if we go to the case of the soil,

it suffers on three fronts.

Firstly, there is the chemical pollution

generated by absorbing all the

spilled fuels, metals, and

industrial substances, right? They all

eliminate native microfauna and

degrade its fertility. Microfauna is

that which we do not see, but which is embedded

within the soil. Secondly,

the massive accumulation of

debris also suffocates the land and alters

biodiversity.

Also, thirdly, the fracturing of

the vegetation layer in our hillside areas

, as is the case, for example, in

our Andean areas, critically increases

the risk of erosion. The

mudflows and

subsequent landslides with the arrival of the

rains, something already known in

the Guaira area, as they have already

experienced it on previous occasions.

Okay. Well, you see, the

accumulation of debris that has been

mentioned so much here has effects,

right? Quite

significant ones, because it suffocates and destroys

marine habitats. Uh, it gives

chemical pollution to the water, yes,

from everything that is the sea. It reduces

sunlight, which is essential for all

living things, all the fish, the

algae, all those that are there in the

sea, on those coasts. Of course it

modifies everything that is part of the

coastal relief and of course it causes a

significant socio-economic impact because

if we alter all these habitats,

logically there will be fewer fish

and those fishermen who live off

that activity will be deeply

affected.

In the case of the impact on plants and

animals, we cannot forget about

these sentient beings, right? Like

our little animals and the flora.

Earthquakes fragment

entire habitats, displace

wild and domestic animals, and break the

food chains and trophic levels that

exist there, as shown here in

these images. Yes, this is a

picture of a dog rescue,

right? Well, that's

significant, isn't it? What happened here? And the

case, of course, of the loss of

vegetation cover and the collapse of the

environment [clears throat]

directly impacts local biodiversity,

then demanding rescue protocols

and emergency veterinary care

within the contingency plans,

which thank God we have also

seen right now there in the

central area where the earthquake occurred, that they

have provided and rescued

many of those pets and

animals.

Well, needless to say, the social impact is

extremely significant, isn't it? The

environmental impact here translates

directly into a social impact. We see

how the quality of life is fracturing.

Children face disruption to their

education and health.

Social capital is destroyed and support networks become saturated

. Displaced families must

adapt to life in

temporary shelters while dealing with the

collapse of basic

water, transport, and energy services. All of this

generates an invisible but

profound consequence on people's mental health

, causing prolonged states of alertness

, post-traumatic stress, and

insomnia in both children and adults.

So, given this scenario, what are

the solutions from civil engineering

and environmental impact assessment?

Well, here we propose five

fundamental axes.

First, the safe handling of debris.

Yes, quite a bit of

information has already come out about it, starting with

the classification at the source to

separate hazardous waste such as

asbestos and lead from inert waste, right?

Logically, that rubble

can later enter

the circular economy and contribute

significantly to the

subsequent reconstruction of the area.

Water and air protection are also important here

. with continuous monitoring of

the contaminants that are present there,

that persist, and any

hydrocarbon leaks that may occur

later. Yes. Another important measure

is phytoremediation

using natural techniques,

phytoremediation and

coastal cleanup, right? In this case, and with the use

of natural techniques to

decontaminate the soils and clean up all

the coastal edges. A

very important point that has already been discussed is

sustainable urban reorganization

because it means designing green spaces

that function as

buffer zones, drainage areas, and

safe shelters in the event of earthquakes. It has already been

said that, look, it is crucial,

important to build where the soil is

suitable for such constructions. Yeah?

So, it's something very, very

important. And lastly, uh,

technical cooperation, right? By creating

interdisciplinary alliances

so that the reconstruction is not done

blindly, but under

sustainability criteria.

That detail is very important.

Well, to wrap things up, I want to leave you with this

message. [clears throat]

Continuous post-earthquake environmental monitoring is not

a luxury, it is a vital necessity to

avoid secondary risks and protect

the population. Only by working together—

academia, authorities, and

citizens—can we build

truly resilient communities,

capable not only of withstanding an earthquake,

but of recovering safely and

sustainably.

Well, I hope you found this

information useful. Thank you very much for your

attention, and we will be attentive to

your questions and comments. I invite you

then to continue with the next

presentation in the discussion.

Thank you all.

Well, we thank Dr. María

Nela Vera for her intervention.

This environmental perspective allows us to

link technical analysis with the

need to strengthen society's preparedness and

response capacity

. In this regard,

Magistoria Serrano, focused on

risk management and preventive culture

through education, takes the floor.

Oraida Serrano holds a master's degree in

critical pedagogy, a bachelor's degree in

alternative pedagogy in risk management, and a

university-level technical degree in

emergency management and disaster response.

Magíst Serrano, we appreciate your presence

at this meeting. It is

his responsibility to close the cycle of

presentations, and he has 15 minutes to

develop his intervention. Already.

One moment

forward.

Well, good evening to everyone.

I would like to know if you can hear me well.

Yes, go ahead.

Okay. Well, good evening. It is

truly a pleasure for me to share

with the specialist people with whom we

have the pleasure of learning today, right?,

from each experience and from everything that

this July 24th has left us,

which has been quite

ethical for us here in Venezuela.

Well, it's up to me to talk about

the part of preventive culture

through education.

It's a topic that we really talk about,

all those who came before us, but

we have to talk about the past, what

we can do. Why talk about a

culture of prevention? Because a

preventative culture is the set of

knowledge, habits, and attitudes used to

anticipate risk. In the case of

earthquakes, it involves learning what to do before,

during, and after a seismic event.

Uh, it is built through education,

practice, and the participation of all

communities. This is something that

concerns us all. Yes. A culture of

prevention is a shared commitment

by all to promote safety,

health, and risk prevention. It is

a collective responsibility

that requires active involvement and

participation in complying with

policies and laws for

citizen security.

When we talk about that familiar

before, during and after, because many

of the specialists

in the area work based on

that, we do talk about the before being

prevention, mitigation and

preparation, but what do we do to achieve

that? Yes. Uh, what's the right thing to do?

family emergency plans,

school emergency plans, and

working with communities. When

we talk about the "during" phase, we mean that the

main objective is to save lives,

provide immediate assistance, mitigate

secondary impacts, and stabilize the

situation.

If we talk about the aftermath, we are

talking about what we know

as the edan, which is the

damage assessment, the needs analysis. It

is a detailed record of the

physical, environmental, and socioeconomic impact in order to

prioritize resources and contributions. And

rehabilitation is the

short-term restoration of basic services

such as water, electricity,

telecommunications, and

minimum living conditions;

reconstruction is the

medium- and long-term process of repairing and

rebuilding housing structures and the

affected socio-economic fabric.

Why talk about a culture of

prevention?

Venezuela went from being a regional model

in risk management to showing a

discontinuous preventive culture and an evident

institutional backwardness.

That was evident, it's not because

we as specialists say so, it's

something that we are truly experiencing a month after the

event

.

Seismic education has positioned itself

as a key measure for prevention and

risk management, but only after the

earthquake.

So where is what we've

done? what we have done before.

So, that's why

we emphasize talking about education, about what

we must do to mitigate

all this kind of collateral damage.

Prevention is not just a technique, it is

a social practice that is built day

by day in schools, families and

communities. Education is the

tool; it is

essential to train people to be

prepared and responsible in the face of

risks.

Let's talk a little bit, shall we?,

about constitutional frameworks,

the right to security and life.

The Constitution tells us in article

43,

"The right to life is inviolable."

Article 55 states, "Every person has the

right to protection by the

State against situations that

constitute threats of vulnerability or

risk to their physical integrity."

Article 3 addresses education and

work, which are

fundamental processes for achieving the

State's objectives, including the

protection of individuals and the

well-being of the people. Article 102

addresses education, which is a

human right and a fundamental social duty

. This should be the basis

for us to incorporate all this

content on preventative culture,

risk management, and everything we

work on, focused on

preparing for any event, into the curricula, both at the

university and school levels.

There are laws and regulations that address this.

Other laws that

are more specific, such as the

Comprehensive Risk Management Law and

the Law on Socio-Natural and Technological Risks, state that

Article 35 guarantees

the State's obligation to ensure the

inclusion of risk management content in the curriculum.

Formal and non-

formal education. Article 36 also tells us

that the State, the private sector, and

communities—that is, a triad—share

responsibility for

promoting prevention through

education and culture.

Article 40 mandates the promotion of a

risk culture that fosters

risk identification and reduction, as well as

emergency prevention.

We're talking about our

laws, about what

we as teachers or

trainers in this area should really

focus on. Yes. A preventative culture is

built by learning, practicing, and

sharing protective measures before an

event occurs.

Education is useful, right?

Why? Because it's through education that

we can create

more resilient communities and citizens. That's why

we say that education is the cornerstone

of resilience, because resilience is

n't just about resisting; it's the capacity to

anticipate, absorb, adapt, and

recover from an event.

Formal and non-formal education allows us to

develop

self-protection skills and foster

emotional intelligence in emergencies,

like the stories about the glasses...

Emotions. I don't know if you've

seen it, but psychologists use it a lot:

dispelling myths and debunking

false information circulating on

social media. This is something

we're

currently struggling with, as we're experiencing

all these kinds of events. And

well, in between one thing and another, here in

Venezuela,

social media has been useful because it has given

other people the opportunity to learn about what

has been happening in different

affected areas. Yes, but

social media isn't always good

because sometimes it's also used

for other things, like spreading misinformation and

creating more chaos than already exists.

So, one of the things is to dispel

the false information

circulating on social media.

The responsibility of the

education system,

right?

Article 8 of the Risk Law states that

the governing body of the

national education system must include

content on threats and

vulnerabilities.

Why? To anticipate and mitigate

risk.

The education system and its entities

cooperate in the design and implementation

of risk reduction actions. Risk and

emergency preparedness.

In other words,

what would have happened

if all these people were

trained or had some

idea of ​​what they were going to do, at

least after an emergency? That's why

practice, curricula

, learning projects,

school drills, and

ongoing teacher training should

n't be just for now, not just because we're

living in these times, but rather

permanent and continuous

environmental prevention, right? Although

the panelists before me already

spoke about all this, what about

the laws, what about the regulations, what about

ordinary citizens? The problem is

that we lack knowledge, and what they

say is that a lack of knowledge does

n't excuse us from responsibility.

However, we see that many of the

things that happen happen because we don't

comply with these

environmental regulations and laws

. Yes, we deal with

natural events, people say, and

we, as specialists,

talk about socio-natural events,

because it's natural, right?, that

earthquakes exist.

Why? Because they are movements. Because

the earth has this That is, the

earth shakes. What is unnatural is

that earthquakes cause

so many victims and so much disaster

because we build in areas where we

shouldn't build. We,

society, are the ones who enter those areas.

So we're talking about Article

6 of the environmental section, which says, "The

State must guarantee

land-use planning and

development planning, excuse me,

avoid increasing or exacerbating

vulnerability."

Oversight bodies must monitor

vulnerability conditions and ensure

that construction does not take place in high-

risk areas and floodplains.

Environmental education teaches how to read the

territory, the faults, the soils, the

slopes, land use and

building regulations, all of which are reflected

in COVID.

Education has a

lot to do with the educational aspect of

urban planning through the

relevant authorities.

We also talked about

community resilience and popular participation;

these articles are also from the

risk law in article 41, 42 and 43, which

says that organized communities

actively participate in the

planning and decision-making on

local risk management.

Communities can exercise

Social Oversight by reporting actions

and omissions that generate risk.

Something difficult to do, isn't it?

Because? Because there are laws. The

problem is whether they are enforced or whether

we, as conscientious citizens,

make use of them.

When we talk about non-compliance,

uh, I put an image here and I

was working there on the part

of the choroso

and I was saying, "My God, I mean, families

that are violated

or that are vulnerable."

And when we go to those places, we have to

go there—the specialists,

the civil protection officials, the

firefighters, and the state security forces—and

we say, "This should happen

, this should be happening.

Who allows these people

to build in this area?

Where is the education? From the

schools, the high schools, where we

train citizens to be aware that it's

our lives that are at stake, that it's

our property, that we're

investing in places where it's not just about how many

people lost. As a

meme I saw just now said about this

situation, those who didn't lose their homes

lost a friend, and those who didn't lose a

friend lost a family member.

So we're talking about resilience,

right? But we can talk about it, or

how much it can strengthen us,

when there are prevention committees in

schools and neighborhoods, right? When

drills are carried out and safety zones are mapped

. When we go to the

communities and talk to the people

who live there, because the people who

are there, they are the ones who have the

information.

The people who have been

in the communities for a long time, those people

are Those who can give us,

the people who are going to do

risk management, are the ones who can give us the

information: what ravine was there,

which one dried up, why it was moved.

Sometimes we go into places where we know

nothing, and it's

the people who gradually

give us that kind of information so

we can work on these

risk maps.

It's important that the communities have

this kind of information and that they

educate themselves so they know, and from our

own experience, we're seeing

that if the agencies, officials, or

institutions don't have the capacity

to respond, it's us as

citizens who step in. I include myself in that because I

have a family, I have a home, I have family

that I teach and tell

about prevention, what to do, what not to

do.

So, what do we do? I mean, we

share knowledge at the

local and scientific levels. Has

anyone discovered anything? What I

tell my students in the

risk management course who are

listening to me here is, if

you learn something, let's... To share it,

we're going to manage through

education. We're going to educate, we're going to offer

courses, we're going to the communities, we're going to

the schools. Almost all the work of

the young people I've had

the opportunity to mentor so far

focuses on education, on

grounding it in

education.

Practice and prevention

are the only things that can give us results.

How? Through education.

Concrete actions for a

preventative culture, both in the classroom and in the

communities, include incorporating a

risk variable, educational projects, for

example, "My Safe School." I've worked on

many cases here in various schools and

high schools, and I continue to do so through

what I can, through

the learning community. Using

playful,

transdisciplinary strategies,

right? With examples in schools like

water waves,

pencil experiments, emotional stories, right?

Collaboration with civil protection,

firefighters, and scientific entities that

help us with updates. Every day,

knowledge is updated at all levels of the...

Part of

risk management. So, we

must also bring to the

forefront everything we've discussed

regarding earthquake preparedness and education,

both in communities and

educational institutions, and

active participation in

risk assessment. So,

thank you very much. And,

a phrase I wanted to share with you: I hope that

education and prevention are much

stronger than seismic activity so that

we can implement prevention measures

and achieve our goals. Thank you so much

for the opportunity that the

postgraduate program has given us today, both myself and those who spoke

before me. Thank you very much

.

Well, Professor Serrano, we appreciate your

presence at this meeting.

With this presentation, we conclude the series

of lectures

and now move on to the

question and answer session.

I ask our panelists

and presenters to please

take the floor to answer

the audience's questions.

This session will last 15 minutes. Any

remaining questions can be submitted via email. It will

give answers to

the participants, to the audience. So go

ahead, please, and to the

presenters.

[snort]

Okay, here's a question I was

asked.

It says, "What are three signs

of structural vulnerability that

we could teach families so they can do

a simple self-assessment

of their homes before

an earthquake occurs?"

This isn't meant to alarm anyone, but

many homes do have some

cracks and fissures, and it's important to understand that

a crack is something that's less

than 1 mm wide. [snort] Anything larger than 1 mm

would already be a crack. So, as I said

in the presentation, cracks in walls and

columns, especially if they are X-shaped,

tell me that the structure

has suffered stresses that exceed its

resistance, and this limits its capacity in

the event of an earthquake. And another

thing that is noticeable is that there are

windows and doors that sometimes don't

close because they are

misaligned. This suggests to me that there are

settlements

in the structure, and if there are

settlements it means that

a foundation failed or a column settled, and

that can weaken it as well. It's the

same as a fracture in a slab.

This stinking substance can cause

cracks to appear in a slab, right next to a

column. That suggests to me that there may be

a column there that has settled,

and that obviously doesn't

mean it's going to fall down, but

it does make it vulnerable to an earthquake.

Okay, I'll go. Well, I'm going to address

one of the

questions

I'm being asked here, regarding

how we can transform

debris management into an

educational opportunity to promote recycling, the

circular economy, and

resilient reconstruction with

community participation. Look, with everything that has been

said, there are some alliances here that

need to be handled

very well, which are interdisciplinary alliances

between academia and the public. What

we, the academy, are doing today is

bringing together information,

citizens with the organization, and of

course the authorities, in the sense

that everything here, in the case

of the Ministry of the Environment, is

governed by the government through

, for example, the Ministry

of the Environment, which simply has to

select those appropriate places

for the disposal of, for example, the

rubble. But those ruins can

be reused

for reconstruction. For that

we need all the technical criteria

from the specialists, right? All that

educational aspect and the fact that the

public is informed about

the role that those ruins would play. Of

course, as a watchman and manager, all

the authorities are extremely

decisive because the laws

stipulate it, everything related to the management

of those debris. So, it's very

important because the rubble, look,

in countries that have had this type of

catastrophe, for example, uh, I

remember Japan, in the case of Mexico,

up to 80% of the rubble generated

has been used in

reconstruction, in making new

fills for, well, you know more

about that than I do, roads, to rebuild, I mean

, it has a whole final management process that

can be very, very beneficial, but

that has to be learned through

education, training

in all sectors. Well, that

's related to another one, and excuse me for

reading the next question to give you a

pass. It is, what are the

effects that we already mentioned,

but I would like to highlight the

effects that these debris have when they

are thrown into the sea?

Yes. Dumping debris into the sea

drastically alters all

coastal and marine ecosystems. The suspended dust

that remains blocks

sunlight. Yes, we know that

corals, for example, live off it. All

the toxic materials

contained in that debris poison

the fauna and flora, while

the specific weight of the debris

alters marine currents,

destroying the habitat of

aquatic species and damaging, of course,

artisanal fishing, which is a

socio-economic support for many

populations that are around.

Okay? Well, that covers the

part about the rubble. I'll leave the floor

to you,

to another of the exhibitors.

Professor José Alejandro, go ahead.

Hello, now we're talking.

Forward.

Yes. Well, there are two very

related questions. One is about whether there is

activity

crossing the Andes, and the other is about whether

faults in the country are activated

after the earthquake. Well, fault number

two is very mixed up, isn't it? Of

course, as we described

earlier, the Boccono fault, which

begins in Táchira, aligns itself with the

entire

Andes mountain range and passes under

Boccono, right? That's where its name comes from, and it

reaches Lara, passing through Cubiro or

Arquisimeto, precisely the turbid river,

it is aligned with the Fault in

Colombia and in Táchira, which is

where they are asking, part of

Táchira

further towards Colombia, that's more or less

where the fault originates.

And we're still talking about how she has

approximately 500 km of travel

and is going to join the group of faults

that we talked about earlier, right? The one

in San Sebastián and that will also be

linked to the victory, etc. In

other words, the Boconó fault, part of

Tachi, is going to give to Morón, in short

.

Uh, she's active. If she's active, we'll

talk about that too. It is precisely this entire set

of faults that moves the two

plates. These are precisely the ones that

limit the two plates. If we say

that the two plates move

approximately 5 mm per year, it is

because the fault is the plane along which

they are sliding. So that

's active,

that if the earthquake

reactivated faults, no, it's not like that.

Faults are what trigger an earthquake

precisely because they are located on the same

plane as any of the

fault lines we saw.

Well, there are times when it accumulates because

the planes, as I also said, are not

perfectly flat, but are

totally

rough, they have material inside as

filling, etc., and sometimes they don't

slide so easily

and precisely when trying to slide they

accumulate energy and that's why

when that energy bursts it

produces those earthquakes.

So, answering the second one as

well, the fault didn't trigger another fault,

but the fault is active and the whole

group of faults are active, only

sometimes they get stuck because of what I just

said and accumulate energy that

explodes at some unknown moment.

Thank you, Professor José Alejandro. We give

the floor to Professor Nerio Núñez.

the stolen. Uh,

it's a year. Excuse me, I don't

know. No, don't worry, professor. Well

, no

seismic engineering questions,

I imagine that's because of the topic, right? However,

there is a question here that really

catches my attention, and that is that they talk

about how Táchira, in the

previous seismic standard, was classified as being

in the seismic zone with a

spectral acceleration, an acceleration [clears throat]

uh of 030.

Uh,

this, so that standard

classified all of Venezuela from zone

zero to zone seven, which was in the

state of Supre. In any case,

seismic zone five is of extremely high

importance. And remember that now the

moment magnitude with which we measure

earthquakes is not just the

quantity, whether it is seven, eight, five, or

six, it has a lot to do, as

Professor Sequera knows, with the depth

of the focus where the earthquake is generated. Okay,

so what can the

university do? Look, to everyone who

is interested in this topic. The

university once, I

couldn't attend because I was very

ill, a commission of highly qualified

professionals went and inspected the

old viaduct bridge here in San

Cristóbal, which presents a very

serious pathology, of great

concern, and a report was generated and

delivered to the authorities with the

aim that the university

always has an active presence in

all those problems that

our state of Tchi experiences. We

are also thinking of holding

workshops

to

train construction foremen, not

engineers, because engineers are already

trained in academia. We want to

train and certify

foremen so they understand the

importance of

seismic nodes and how to address

structural weaknesses, ensuring that

when an earthquake strikes, the

structures, at least the new ones,

are able to withstand it. Now, with

respect to the old,

ancient structures, Professor Sequera said that

everyone now predicts when

a sign will come, well, that is

unpredictable. If there is a science, which is

statistics, that helps us more or less

to establish a return period, and

within that return period, well, that

's not exact, but within that

return period a sign can return for

this area of ​​the Andes. And we must, we must,

and the university, so that you can see,

our university is already

part of a group that includes

Civil Protection, the fire department,

our own universities and

other state agencies, the

state itself, the regional government, with

the aim of always

training, and with the College of Engineers, we

want to review the

structures that we consider

dangerous. Um, I was also going to call to

say that this discussion is part

of what the university wants to do

through these audiovisual means to

inform about important matters. Yes, it is true

that it is fashionable because of what happened

in Vargas state, but it is of

utmost importance that we are

prepared, prepared from

prevention and prepared by having the

equipment, prepared from education,

prepared from training. Yes,

the state of Táchira is a state with a very

high seismic risk and is very

dangerous. We have, as the

geologist said, the Oca fault back here

in Colombia, which is when it fails,

of course, it's not that it's connected, but it

can activate the Boccono fault, right?

Since the one in San Sebastián cannot be activated

. Well, that's what I wanted to

talk about.

Thank you, Professor Nerio Hurtado.

Professor Simón has his hand raised over there,

and then we would give way to Professor

Soraida Serrano.

Yes, there was a question that said, what

actions can the university take

to review the buildings?

Um, just last week

we had a meeting with Dr.

Raúl Casanova and he presented us with a project

to create the Center for

Seismological Research in the state of Táchira, which would be

an inter-institutional project

combining

legal, scientific and

financial viability.

Given the seismic risk in the

state, what happened here serves as a

warning so that our region can have

an infrastructure that

guides us and prepares us for the future.

This is an initiative that is already holding its

first meetings to establish

the legal framework, infrastructure, and

equipment. The university could

be the site to place a seismograph,

which there isn't one, and to carry out

advanced studies on this. Also,

today we had an invitation from the

College of Engineers and where they

participated in meetings to

analyze the seismic risk that the

State has and there were

different organizations present, both those of

civil protection, fire departments from

different municipalities and there we discussed

all these aspects that this in

the part of the organization precision and

also.

Okay, thank you, Professor

Simon. Please, Professor Soraida, with

your response.

Okay, we're still here. He says, "What

methodologies of

alternative pedagogy have you found

most effective in establishing a

preventative culture?"

Well, alternative pedagogy

tells us that it is a set, right?, of

approaches, models,

educational currents that distance themselves from

a traditional teaching model.

We do things that not everyone does.

So what else has been effective

through drills? Carlas, the

water harvesting projects, which are very

much related to the environment, and the

recycling projects—there was a

time when it was all the rage,

everyone wanted to learn how to

recycle, to do things. So it seems like these

things are going out

of fashion every day, right? But

this is part of what we can

do through teaching,

education, and the pedagogical aspect.

art, communication. Uh, I remember

that, well, many of you knew

Professor Miguel Arturo Chacón, who is

no longer with us, but

who was truly a great teacher.

We used to make short videos with

children in schools, we went to the radio

and made short videos focused on

prevention. So, a lot to do, right

? Ideas to be received.

This also says that we must also

do the research project part

, where we

address the part of

historical memory, right? Where children

learn the stories of the

communities, where they themselves can

do it. I worked on it at the

Francisco de Miranda school. It's all there,

and the children helped to create the

vulnerability map of the area and then

painted it like a mural. So,

through painting, these

murals, there is real

family integration, there is a lot of it, and we are

here at the service of all those who

need workshops and

talks.

We are at your service. Thank you, really.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Fine, thanks. We appreciate the questions

asked by our audience and the

answers provided by the

specialists.

To present a summary of the

main contributions of this

discussion,

we invited Dr. Carmenol

Solózano, a professor specializing

in environmental impact studies and evaluation

.

Dr. Solórzano, the

floor is yours.

Hey Carlos, and before Carmen Sol, I

just wanted to quickly tell you the

following, that this is precisely a

great contribution to the educational aspect that is

embedded in all levels, both the

engineering aspect and the

preventive aspect and the environmental impact aspect

. We invite you because this

is the first of

many activities to come later

[clears throat] of great interest. for

the entire community. The idea is that we work

together hand in hand, that we

all become stronger and able to

face everything that is coming our way

. Go ahead, Professor Carmen.

Well, thank you very much.

Okay, so we're now approaching the

end of this important discussion.

We are now at the end of the

discussion.

Earthquakes 2026, Lessons and

Environmental Future, a space that has

allowed us to reflect on the double

earthquake that occurred in our country, which

has left us all quite

emotionally affected and we have seen from

different perspectives

how to understand and comprehend the

seismic risk that we have in our country.

Our first panelist,

engineer Nerio Hurtado, explained the

science behind seismic damage.

recent in the coastal area of

Venezuela. Uh, it focused mainly

on La Guaira. There he answered a

question that distressed us all when

we saw the horrific images of the double

earthquake that occurred in our country, and it

was, why did one building collapse

while the one next to it remained

completely intact? Well, the answer

is definitely not a matter of luck

,

but rather it has to do with

structural design, with physics, with

engineering, right? So, the

ultimate goal of

earthquake-resistant engineering is not to make

invincible or infinitely rigid buildings,

but to create structures that are ductile

and intelligent, capable of

absorbing shocks and remaining standing,

and that give the people

inside these buildings just enough

time to evacuate

, right?

This is achieved through rigorous soil studies

, good engineering,

ethical construction practices, and by

completely eliminating the element of chance.

For his part, engineer José

Alejandro Sequeda explained to us about

seismic movements and the

geological reality of our country. It helped us

understand the seismicity of Venezuela and

learn about the geological faults, which

also allowed us to learn about our

territory and know where we are

located, right? "isms" are

natural phenomena that we cannot avoid.

However, its consequences can

be reduced with

scientific information, planning, and above

all, with a population prepared for

this. We also had the engineer

Simón Ballestero, who taught us to look at

our homes and our

communities from the perspective of

structural pathology. One of the

most important ideas we should take away from

this discussion is that not all

cracks have the same meaning, and it is

therefore essential to distinguish between

superficial damage and those that

may be compromising the

structure in columns, beams, walls, or

slabs. He

also reminded us that there are certain

signs such as, for example, the

visible tilting of a building,

ground subsidence,

severely damaged columns, or

significant landslides. He

reminded us that we must evaluate the

detached concrete, the X-shaped cracks

in the columns, and that these must be

taken very seriously.

If we have any doubts, the

most prudent decision is to leave and wait for an

evaluation from a professional in the field.

Home security cannot be

improvised. As he emphasized in his

presentation, a crack doesn't

simply mean we have to go and

cover it up. It is necessary to understand the

damage and restore the safety of the

structure.

But we also see the other side

of what an earthquake can affect,

and it's not just buildings.

Uh, here comes the presentation by

Dr. Marianela Vera, who told us

about the environmental impacts

after an earthquake and reminded us of the

disaster that can occur after the

initial movement. Impacts on

soil, water, air, and

ecosystems are

significant disruptions. The accumulation of

debris, the release of dust and

hazardous substances,

fuel and gas leaks, the collapse of

drinking water and sewage networks

, landslides, and

sedimentation in bodies of

water also represent

significant environmental and health risks.

For this reason, after the earthquake,

we must include the safe management of

debris, the protection and restoration

of our ecosystems, and

urban planning. Very important, an

aspect that has been lost in recent years

. Likewise, we went through

the consequences

that most devastated all

Venezuelans, which are the impacts

that the affected population had.

This is how Master Soraida Serrano explained it to us:

the communities that had to

face the loss of other

people and the loss of their

homes, the interruption of

public services, the displacement of

large groups of people, the effects on

mental health and above all

the disruption of the tranquility

of what it means to be in a home,

in a house. This, this was

considered, uh, as an aspect, I think

the most regrettable one that we

Venezuelans have had to live through.

Finally, Ms. Serrano

speaks to us about a preventative culture

through education, leaving us with an

essential lesson: prevention

begins before an earthquake.

We must therefore be aware

that through learning and

participation

in the community we can also

develop

self-protection skills to

protect ourselves and combat

misinformation, strengthen

our emotional intelligence, and know

how to act during and after an

emergency.

Drills are important, like

a planning tool that we

must have in our

organizations. I believe that

universities are called upon to resume

the drills that

we used to do very frequently a few years ago, and to encourage

citizen participation in order to

permanently adopt a culture of

prevention and how to act during an

event of this magnitude. Resilience does

not simply mean resisting, but rather

anticipating, confronting and

adapting to the events that may

happen to us. And especially those of us who

are in the Andean region, in

Táchira, a seismic zone, we need to

train ourselves, especially in this

type of prevention that we can do

from our organization. Well, in

conclusion to this discussion, I think we need to

carry out more

activities of this type. Geology

will help us understand the

territory in which we are located.

Engineering helps us to build and

evaluate structures to make them

safer. Environmental management will

then allow us to protect our

ecosystems and mitigate subsequent impacts

. And

education will prepare us

more responsibly so that when

these seismic events occur we can reduce

their consequences.

And I believe that we at

the National

Experimental University of Táchira must thank our

speakers, engineer Nerio

Hurtado, geological engineer José

Alejandro Sequera, engineer Simón

Vallesteros, Dr. Marianela

Vera, and Zoraida Serrano for their

participation, and the

postgraduate dean's office for this initiative as an

organized entity. I welcome

the moderating team of this discussion and

we must remember that science,

education and prevention will always be

our strengths and that we must

remain active and under prevention as long as

we can. Well,

thank you all very much. I'll leave it to

Dr. Carlos Peñalosa to

close this discussion.

Okay, thank you Dr. Solózano.

Well, on behalf of the postgraduate dean's office

of the National Experimental University

of Táchira, we express our

gratitude to the panelists,

as Dr. Solózano so aptly put it,

who addressed the topics with their contributions

from an

interdisciplinary perspective, and

we acknowledge their

specialization in environmental impact studies and evaluation

. to the Department

of Civil Engineering of UNET and to all

the people who participated in the

organization, technical support and

transmission of this meeting.

We thank those who joined us

through the YouTube channel, as well as

those who asked questions and

followed the interventions of our

panelists.

From the National

Experimental University of Táchira, we reaffirm

our commitment to the generation and

dissemination of

relevant knowledge for

sustainable development, territorial security, and

the well-being of our communities.

In this way we conclude the

virtual discussion Earthquakes 2026,

lessons and environmental future.

Thank you so much for joining us.