The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a magnitude 4.9 quake in Venezuela near La Villa del Rosario, Rosario de Perijá Municipality, Zulia, only 20 minutes ago. The earthquake hit in the morning on Thursday, January 1st, 2026, at 8:37 am local time at a shallow depth of 18. km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Our monitoring service identified a second report from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) which listed the quake at magnitude 4.9 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include The Colombian Geological Service (SGC) at magnitude 4.1, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 4.9.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc. In La Villa del Rosario (pop. 82,800) located 23 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.Weak shaking might have been felt in Machiques (pop. 132,700) located 46 km from the epicenter, Concepcion (pop. 92,500) 57 km away, La Concepcion (pop. 120,500) 59 km away, Maracaibo (pop. 1,752,600) 78 km away, Cabimas (pop. 351,700) 81 km away, Los Puertos de Altagracia (pop. 101,500) 91 km away, and Ciudad Ojeda (pop. 240,300) 92 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Jan 1, 2026 08:37 am (Caracas time) local time (1 Jan 2026 12:37 GMT)Magnitude: 4.9Depth: 18.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 10.19°N / 72.16°W (La Canada de Urdaneta, Zulia, Venezuela)Primary data source: EMSC