Caracas, Venezuela | July 2026
Two weeks after the devastating June 24 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s central coast, Miyamoto International Global CEO Dr. H. Kit Miyamoto sat down with Venezuelan news outlet El Estímulo in Caracas. In a wide ranging conversation with journalists Oscar Medina and Teresa Camejo, Kit shared what our team has observed on the ground in La Guaira, why the damage was so severe, and why he believes this coastline can rebuild safer and stronger than before.
Kit has responded to dozens of large scale disasters around the world, and he described this event as among the most severe he has seen, comparable to the 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. But his central message was one of hope grounded in engineering: the causes of the collapses are identifiable, and they are fixable.
Why the damage was so severe
Kit pointed to two factors familiar from seismic disasters worldwide. First, building age. Modern seismic codes were adopted globally in the mid 1980s, which means structures built before then, in Venezuela as in Türkiye, Japan, and the United States, lack the seismic considerations that protect lives today. Second, construction inspection. Even well designed buildings can fail when independent engineering inspections are not part of the construction process.
What struck Kit most in La Guaira was how small the difference can be between a building that stands and one that collapses. He described new buildings with quality steel and concrete that failed because of small construction details, such as reinforcing bars in columns that were too short to anchor properly into foundations. Unlike hurricanes, where a structure built mostly right will generally perform well, earthquakes are unforgiving of small errors. That is why he sees capacity building for local contractors, masons, and construction workers as one of the highest impact investments Venezuela can make in the years ahead.
What matters most right now
Kit outlined three immediate priorities for the response.
The first is communication with affected families, especially in the hillside communities above the main disaster zone. Many homes there show cracks, and residents urgently want to know whether their houses are safe and how to repair them. Most of these repairs are straightforward, and clear technical guidance can restore both safety and peace of mind. During field visits, residents repeatedly invited our engineers into their homes to assess the damage, and the team provided guidance on what the cracks meant and how to address them.
The second is rapid, systematic assessment of the coastal zone: identifying collapsed and unsafe structures, quantifying debris, and distinguishing buildings with structural damage from those with only superficial or architectural damage. Many buildings that look damaged are structurally sound, and identifying them accurately accelerates safe reoccupation and focuses resources where they are needed most.
The third is understanding the ground itself. Geotechnical knowledge of what lies beneath the soil in the hardest hit areas will determine what can be built there and how. As Kit noted, with the right understanding of site conditions, safe construction is possible almost anywhere.
Lessons from Kobe, Haiti, and beyond
Kit’s role in Venezuela draws on decades of recovery experience across the globe. He pointed to Kobe, Japan, where a 1995 earthquake on similar coastal terrain killed thousands and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. Today, high rise towers stand safely on that same ground. He also cited Haiti, where seismic protection systems and modern inspections are now taken seriously in new construction following the 2010 earthquake.
History also shows that the window for change is limited. Kit noted that countries typically have about five years after a major disaster during which public attention supports meaningful action on seismic safety, including retrofitting existing buildings. Venezuela’s last major earthquake was nearly sixty years ago, and this event has made the country’s seismic reality impossible to ignore. Acting within this window is essential.
“We have to help people as much as possible,” Kit told El Estímulo, a sentiment that captures the spirit of our mission in Venezuela and everywhere we work.
Our work in Venezuela
Miyamoto International is a global structural engineering and disaster risk management firm and a social enterprise. Our team is on the ground in Venezuela with the support of the U.S. Department of State, working alongside Venezuelan engineers, contractors, and communities on damage assessment, technical guidance, and recovery planning. Kit was clear that Venezuela already has excellent engineers and strong development capacity. Our contribution is the accumulated knowledge of what has worked, and what has not, in recoveries around the world.
Read the full original interview (en español) at El Estímulo: Kit Miyamoto: “Hay que ayudar a la gente tanto como sea posible”
