The death toll from the earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to 3,685
The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June has risen to 3,685, according to Reuters. According to official figures, nearly 18,000 people have been left homeless.
The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, struck less than a minute apart, approximately 160 kilometres west of Caracas. According to the US Geological Survey, this was the strongest earthquake to hit Venezuela since 1900.
In the western part of the country, local volunteers, together with cemetery staff, are helping to bury the dead and supporting families searching for their loved ones. At La Esperanza cemetery in the Catia la Mar district, 314 people have already been buried. Around a hundred of them have so far been identified only by numbers linked to mortuary records.
Relatives of the deceased are trying to identify the victims using photographs, distinguishing features, fingerprints and dental records. If this proves insufficient, DNA testing is carried out.
Some of the country’s residents have criticised the authorities’ response to the aftermath of the natural disaster, considering it insufficiently prompt. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has stated that the government is working to deal with the aftermath of the disaster and has activated its emergency response plan.
According to Rodríguez, the authorities are also working to restore operations at the country’s main international airport as quickly as possible. To this end, they plan to use an alternative runway.
John Barrett, the US Chargé d’Affaires in Caracas, stated that Venezuela had fulfilled the necessary requirements to facilitate a large-scale humanitarian operation. He said that the total amount of US humanitarian aid following the earthquakes has already exceeded 310 million dollars.
The Venezuelan government has not released figures on the number of people missing. The United Nations estimates that there could be up to 50,000, whilst other estimates put the figure at around 10,000.
