A three-story apartment building in La Guaira, Venezuela, has withstood the recent devastating earthquakes that caused widespread destruction in the area. Built 20 years ago by Elias Eduardo Chayeb and his father, also named Elias, the modest seafront structure remained standing while many surrounding taller and more luxurious buildings were heavily damaged or collapsed.
La Guaira, a coastal city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Caracas and known for its Caribbean beaches and tourist attractions, experienced two strong back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. The international airport serving Caracas, located near the building in the Puerto Viejo neighborhood, also suffered damage during the seismic events.
The Chayeb family attributed the building’s survival to several factors, foremost among them the relatively low height of the structure. Both Elias Eduardo and his father emphasized that their decision to limit the building to three stories was a deliberate measure, reflecting their understanding of La Guaira’s challenging geography and history of natural disasters. Over a career spanning more than sixty years, Elias senior said he consistently avoided constructing tall buildings in the region, citing the 1999 landslide in La Guaira which resulted in thousands of deaths as a cautionary example.
In addition to the building’s height, the family pointed to the quality of construction materials and the carefully designed foundations, which were adapted to the area’s notably unstable terrain. Although some walls sustained cracks, the foundations, windows, staircases, and supporting columns remained intact throughout the earthquakes. Importantly, none of the residents in the six apartments were injured.
Reflecting on the event, Elias senior expressed relief and satisfaction that their building had “passed the test” posed by the earthquakes. Their experience highlights the challenges in building infrastructure resilient enough to withstand significant seismic activity in regions like La Guaira, where geological instability and past disasters have shaped construction practices and urban planning decisions.