CARACAS, Venezuela: The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela last week has risen to at least 1,719, while more than 5,000 people have been injured and tens of thousands remain missing, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Monday, as rescue teams raced against time to search for survivors.
Rodriguez said 5,034 people had been injured in the disaster, which devastated the coastal state of La Guaira and surrounding areas.
The powerful 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck on Wednesday evening, flattening entire neighbourhoods in what authorities have described as one of the worst earthquake disasters in Latin America’s recent history.
Five days after the earthquakes, hopes of finding more survivors beneath the rubble were fading as the critical 72-hour rescue window had passed.
At a temporary morgue established in a warehouse at La Guaira port, hundreds of bodies lay in coffins and body bags awaiting identification, AFP reported. Dozens of relatives gathered outside seeking information about missing family members, according to AFP.
“There were 11 people in my household; only two of us survived because we were at work,” survivor Wilker Molalla told AFP.
“My family is there — I’m told my sister and her children are there, as well as the children of my brother,” he said.
Despite diminishing hopes, isolated rescues continued. Volunteer rescuer Daniel Pino told AFP that emergency workers received a WhatsApp message from a woman trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Caraballeda claiming she was still alive.
Separately, a 21-year-old man identified as Aaron Levi was rescued on Monday in the nearby town of Tanaguarena, according to video released by a photographer who witnessed the operation.
International assistance for Venezuela quake victims
The United States military continued efforts to restore operations at the damaged port in La Guaira to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid, a US administration official told journalists in Washington.
US Air Force personnel have also been assisting in restoring operations at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas, which has partially reopened for cargo and relief flights.
US helicopters have transported emergency supplies, while US Marines used landing craft from the amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale to deliver additional aid.
The United States on Monday doubled its humanitarian assistance for Venezuela from $150 million to $300 million.
According to interim President Delcy Rodriguez, 24 countries have so far delivered 521 tonnes of relief supplies, deployed more than 2,700 search-and-rescue personnel and sent 86 specialised search dogs.
Separately, the United Nations said 27 countries had deployed more than 2,000 rescue workers and personnel, along with over 160 search dogs. UN officials said seven people were rescued from the rubble on Sunday, four days after the disaster.
Mounting humanitarian needs
The UN migration agency estimates that up to 6.76 million people could be affected by the disaster and require emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief supplies.
Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the UN Resident Coordinator for Venezuela, said the organisation had agreed with Venezuelan authorities to procure 10,000 body bags as preparations continued for a possible further increase in fatalities.
“We truly hope that actually the number is going to be smaller than that,” he told a virtual news conference.
Rampolla declined to speculate on the final death toll but said it was likely to exceed the current official figure.
A magnitude 4.6 aftershock struck on Monday morning, according to the US Geological Survey, raising concerns about the structural stability of hundreds of buildings weakened by the earlier earthquakes.
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said 774 buildings had suffered severe damage, including 189 that had completely collapsed.
