The death toll from the catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela has officially exceeded the critical threshold of 4,100 people.
According to the latest data, officially announced by the President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez and disseminated by the state television VTV, the confirmed deaths are now 4,118. At least 16,740 people have been injured, and humanitarian organizations warn that tens of thousands of citizens remain missing.
We recall that the country was shaken successively by two powerful earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale within an interval of just 39 seconds. This turned out to be the worst seismic disaster in the history of Venezuela in the last century. The northern part of the country was hardest hit, especially the coastal state of La Guaira, where in some places nearly 80% of the buildings were leveled to the ground.
So far, 6,462 people have been rescued from the rubble. Although large-scale rescue operations are beginning to subside, hundreds of families and volunteers continue to dig with their bare hands in the hills of concrete, hoping to find the bodies of their loved ones. The situation is further complicated by the constant seismic activity - the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS) reports that more than 1,100 aftershocks have been recorded, including a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 3, which caused panic in the streets of the capital, Caracas.
More than 17,000 people have been left homeless and are housed in nearly 90 temporary camps. The World Health Organization and local health authorities have warned of a looming epidemiological crisis in the camps due to the lack of clean drinking water and overcrowding. There has already been a sharp increase in gastrointestinal and skin infections.
The United Nations has launched an urgent appeal for nearly $300 million to address immediate humanitarian needs. At the same time, Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has called on the international community and Britain to unfreeze Venezuelan assets and gold held in foreign banks under tightened international sanctions, so that the funds can be directed directly to the country's reconstruction.