Srinagar, June 27 -- Days after a devastating earthquake sequence ripped through Venezuela, seismic waves sent people rushing out of homes and offices in Kashmir.

Streets filled with anxious residents waiting for the shaking to stop. The tremors passed without causing major damage, while Venezuela continued counting lives lost after a magnitude 7.2 foreshock gave way to a magnitude 7.5 earthquake only 38 seconds later.

Those events unfolded thousands of kilometres apart, though together they tell a story that Kashmir cannot ignore.

Venezuela's tremor tragedy did not begin with the earthquake alone. It grew through collapsing buildings, damaged roads, disrupted communication networks and emergency systems pushed beyond capacity.

Scient...