Venezuela earthquake: Death toll reaches 1,450, rescuers race against time to find survivors | Today’s news
The death toll from two earthquakes in Venezuela this week rose to at least 1,450 on Sunday as rescue teams raced against time to find more survivors. Foreign rescue teams, including those from the US, Mexico and Colombia, poured into La Guaira, the state hardest hit by Wednesday’s magnitude-double earthquakes.
The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days as rescue teams dig through piles of sand and rubble left behind by dozens of collapsed buildings in the coastal state.
Venezuela confirmed 1450 dead
“We must report that the death toll has reached 1,450 people, women and men, who have lost their lives as a result of the most brutal natural disaster our country has ever faced in its history,” said Interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
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About 3,150 people were left injured, 12,721 were displaced and 774 buildings collapsed, it said.
The search continues
Jorge Rodriguez, speaker of the National Assembly and brother of the interim president, said rescue teams remained active and were trying to find survivors before it was too late.
“Every life saved is a miracle; every life saved is a response to the efforts of thousands of people, to whom we will be forever grateful,” he said in a televised address.
“We are in critical hours, decisive hours to continue to save lives and build camps where people who have lost their homes or who cannot return to their residences for any reason can stay.”
Why the first 72 hours are critical
The US Geological Survey estimates that more than 10,000 could die in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes, which would make them among the deadliest in Latin America in the last century.
“There is a window of about three days, 72 hours, after which the probability of being able to save people alive decreases,” Sebastian Eugster, head of the Swiss rescue team, told Reuters.
The government said at least 33 people, including several children, had been rescued by Saturday evening, while tens of thousands remained missing.
Read also | Fresh 5.6 magnitude earthquake hits Venezuela after two aftershocks kill over 1,400
Although the government put the number in the hundreds as missing or imprisoned, just under 50,000 people were listed as missing on Sunday on websites supported by the country’s political opposition, down slightly from 55,000 a day earlier.
Millions more feared they would not have access to sanitation and other basic needs after one of Latin America’s most devastating earthquakes.
774 buildings were seriously damaged in the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors that struck on Wednesday night, including 189 buildings that completely collapsed.
International rescue teams in Venezuela
So far, 24 countries have sent 521 tons of supplies, 86 units with dogs trained to locate people trapped under the rubble, and more than 2,700 search and rescue workers.
Read also | India sends aid to earthquake-hit Venezuela under Operation Amistad: Jaishankar
The United States said on Saturday that one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves the capital, was partially operational to receive US military aircraft while a naval ship arrived off the coast. The US also sent a 250-member disaster response team.
Experts say the first 72 hours after natural disasters – a period that has already passed in Venezuela – is a narrow window for finding survivors. After that, the search usually becomes one of recovering bodies.
