ONE WEEK SINCE VENEZUELA QUAKES – Rescue efforts continue searching through mountains of debris across the country coast
One week after twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela, hopes of finding more survivors are beginning to fade as rescue teams continue searching through mountains of debris across the country’s northern coast.
The disaster has claimed more than 1,943 lives, with 10,571 people left injured, said Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez.
The quakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, hit central Venezuela less than a minute apart on June 24, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
A total of 855 buildings across the country had been affected by the disaster, with 189 completely destroyed and several partially collapsed. In the hardest-hit La Guaira, electricity service has been restored to near-full capacity, Rodriguez in the latest government update on the national emergency.
Rodriguez said that since search and rescue operations began, 6,461 people have been pulled from the rubble.
Search and rescue efforts are still under way, with 3,660 foreign search and rescue workers, 51 international delegations, 148 sniffer dogs, and 49 support vehicles currently on the ground, and more than 700,000 tons of humanitarian aid have already been delivered.
