The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela earlier this week has risen to 1,430, according to Jorge Rodríguez, a senior Venezuelan politician.
National Assembly President added on state television that 3,200 people were injured and 3,100 were left homeless by the disaster.
Searches for survivors continue after the 7.2‑ and 7.5‑magnitude quakes hit within a minute on Wednesday evening, flattening buildings in the north of the country. At least 68,900 people are reported missing by their families.
In La Guaira, one of the hardest‑hit regions, civilians have been using shovels and their bare hands to dig through the rubble of collapsed homes.
On Saturday, the United Nations estimated that the earthquakes caused $6.7 billion in damage, roughly 6 % of Venezuela’s GDP. The preliminary assessment covers losses to assets, including housing, but does not account for wider economic disruption, said the UN Development Programme.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced that more than 14,000 military and police personnel have been deployed to patrol the affected zones, where access is restricted and special permits are required.
Rescue teams from Mexico, the United States, Brazil, El Salvador, and France arrived in Venezuela on Saturday, following earlier deployments from the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
U.S. State Department official Jeremy Lewin said that the United States military would coordinate flights to bring in rescue workers, mobile hospitals and supplies. He noted that two 80‑person search teams had been deployed and that a U.S. navy transport ship was docked off the coast, ready to receive air‑lifted survivors in need of medical attention.
Lewin described the mission as a “race against the clock” to locate injured survivors and emphasized the priority of mobilising search and rescue teams, medical professionals and other specialists as quickly as possible.
Loyce Pace, regional director for the Americas of the International Red Cross, said that people remain terrified to re‑enter what once were their homes.
Foreign nationals have been confirmed among the deceased, including 15 people of Portuguese descent or nationality, seven Chinese, two Brazilians, five Spaniards and an Italian‑Venezuelan.
