Thousands left homeless after Venezuela quake
Subtitle:
Nearly 18,000 people are being housed in camps after the country's worst disaster in a century.
Body text:
The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is deepening sharply after two catastrophic earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, struck the country. Official figures, presented by Vice President for Social Affairs Hector Rodriguez on his Telegram channel, confirm that 18,437 people have already been relocated and housed in 94 temporary camps. The situation is the worst in the coastal state of La Guaira and the capital Caracas.
The grim statistics of the natural disaster show that the number of dead has exceeded 4,100 people, and nearly 17,000 injured. According to information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and estimates from the World Health Organization, overcrowding in the rescue centers poses a huge risk of epidemics due to the lack of clean drinking water and medicine. On the ground, international humanitarian organizations, including “Samaritan's Purse“, are providing emergency assistance by providing tents and food for people who have lost all their belongings.