The death toll from the earthquakes that shook Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24 continues to rise dramatically: this Friday, Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, announced that the number of fatalities has reached 920 people, with more than 3,360 injured and 4,000 affected.
"We must announce with sorrow, because they are our sisters and brothers, that 920 people have died as a result of the violent earthquake actions on June 24," Rodríguez stated in the official report on Friday afternoon.
The figure represents a drastic jump compared to the balance in the morning of the same day, when Delcy Rodríguez had confirmed 589 fatalities and 2,980 injured, and it more than triples the count from Thursday, June 25, which recorded 164 deaths and 971 injuries.
In just 48 hours, the number of fatalities rose from the first confirmed deaths to nearly a thousand, reflecting both the true magnitude of the disaster and the gradual progress of rescue efforts among the rubble.
Jorge Rodríguez also reported that 383 buildings were significantly or completely affected, most of them in the state of La Guaira, the area most devastated by the earthquakes.
The governor of that state, Ina Rodríguez, declared a state of natural disaster, and the president of the National Assembly announced that the coastal entity was "completely militarized" under the control of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces to ensure order and facilitate rescue operations.
The two earthquakes, with magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, occurred with just 39 seconds apart, with the epicenter in the state of Yaracuy, municipality of Yumare, at a depth of between 10 and 13 kilometers.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has categorized them as the most powerful recorded in Venezuela since 1900 and issued its maximum-level Red Alert. Since then, more than 200 aftershocks have been recorded across the country.
The international response has been massive. According to the UN, 16 countries have deployed more than a thousand rescuers, including the United States, Spain, France, Colombia, Chile, and Mexico.
Washington allocated 150 million dollars in humanitarian aid, while the International Red Cross launched an emergency appeal for 50 million Swiss francs.
The IOM estimated that 6.76 million people may have been affected by the disaster, including approximately two million residents of Caracas.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, described the situation as "truly terrifying devastation" and warned that the agency was already providing assistance to around eight million Venezuelans before the earthquakes, which further exacerbates the impact of the disaster.
The Venezuelan government announced an initial fund of 200 million dollars for reconstruction, as rescue teams continue to work tirelessly among the rubble in search of survivors.
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