Related videos:
The chavista government raised the official death toll from the devastating earthquakes of June 24 to 4,333 this Saturday, according to the official report presented by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, via his social media.
The balance -which confirms a sustained increase in casualties from the 164 deaths initially reported on June 24- also includes 16,740 injured, 6,462 rescued alive, and 86,794 families assisted following the largest seismic disaster in over a century for Venezuela.
The double earthquake with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, which occurred on June 24 with just 39 seconds between the two tremors, had its epicenter between the states of Carabobo and Yaracuy and devastated densely populated areas such as La Guaira, Caracas, Valencia, Puerto Cabello, and Miranda.
According to the official report, 190 buildings have collapsed and 856 others have been affected, while 17,907 people remain homeless and 18,437 are housed in 94 temporary shelters set up by the government.
Rodríguez emphasized the deployment of human resources in response to the emergency: "At this time, 31,837 personnel and 30,197 volunteers are actively deployed across the country to ensure the well-being of the affected population. We have provided medical assistance to 31,193 patients and distributed over 9,766 tons of food."
The regime also reported the distribution of more than 16.6 million liters of water and the ongoing presence of 2,422 international rescuers from dozens of countries, along with the recording of 1,202 aftershocks since the original earthquake.
The official death toll, however, contrasts with international estimates that suggest a much larger magnitude of the tragedy. The U.S. Geological Survey issued a Red Alert with a 42% probability that the final total of fatalities will be between 10,000 and 100,000 people.
One of the biggest controversies of the tragedy is the complete absence of official figures on the missing. While the Venezuelan government has not published any data on this matter, the UN estimates that there are up to 50,000 missing persons, and the citizen platform "Encuéntralos" recorded over 71,000 people unaccounted for as of June 29.
The death toll has been steadily increasing since the first day: from 164 confirmed deaths by authorities on the night of June 24, it rose to 188 on the 25th, and by the next day, 920 were reported; 1,430 on June 27; 1,943 on June 30; 2,645 on July 3; 3,342 between July 5 and 6, and 3,811 on July 9, before reaching the current total.
Among the international victims are at least 34 Spaniards deceased and 140 missing, as well as nine Cubans dead and between 20 and 32 missing, mainly in La Guaira, according to reports from family members. The regime in Havana has only confirmed the death of two citizens from the island and has not released official figures for the missing.
The United Nations Development Programme estimates the economic damages from the earthquakes at 6.7 billion dollars, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's GDP, in a country that was already experiencing a deep institutional and economic crisis.
Filed under: