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The death toll from the earthquakes that devastated Venezuela on June 24 continues to rise: the official report from the Venezuelan government released this Monday by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, raised the number of confirmed fatalities to 4,561, 71 more than the previous day.
The figure marks a new milestone in a progression that began with 164 deaths on June 24 and has been steadily increasing: 920 by the end of June 26; 1,719 on June 28; 3,535 on July 6; 4,118 on the 10th; 4,333 on the 11th; and 4,490 on Sunday.
The same report registers 16,740 injured, 6,462 people rescued alive, and 1,254 aftershocks recorded since the day of the earthquakes.
Other 17,907 people remain homeless and 20,231 are dispersed across 107 camps established by the authorities.
The official document also records 856 affected buildings, of which 190 collapsed, as well as the distribution of 10,063 tons of food and more than 19.6 million liters of water.
In the emergency response, 2,471 international rescuers, 30,989 deployed personnel, and 30,692 volunteers are involved.
The seismic doublet —with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5— occurred at 6:04 PM local time, just 39 seconds apart, with the epicenter near Yumare, in the state of Yaracuy.
The tremors shook a densely populated area spanning Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, where the worst destruction was concentrated: 158 of the 190 buildings with total collapse recorded throughout the country were located there.
An analysis of images from the Sentinel-1 satellite processed by NASA determined that more than half of the buildings in areas such as Caraballeda, Macuto, Naiguatá, and Catia la Mar had a damage probability exceeding 75%.
The geophysicist Michael Schmitz explained to the newspaper El Nacional that the extent of the destruction is not solely due to the strength of the earthquakes.
"Since major earthquakes do not occur as frequently as in Chile or Japan, seismic considerations have taken a backseat," he noted.
While rescue efforts have shifted to the recovery of bodies, the government of Delcy Rodríguez has not released an official number of missing persons.
The UN estimates that up to 50,000 people are unaccounted for, while the citizen platform "Encuéntralos" registered over 71,000 as of June 29, a lack of transparency that has raised open questions both inside and outside Venezuela.
This lack of transparency is compounded by the complaints from victims' families who claim to have been obstructed by military personnel in their search efforts.
"We ask, please, to be allowed to work. The National Armed Forces have not let us work," stated a volunteer quoted by Infobae.
The United Nations Development Programme estimated the material damages at approximately 6.7 billion dollars, equivalent to 6% of Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product, with a total impact that could reach between 10.05 billion and 20.1 billion.
The United States Geological Survey issued a Red Alert and estimated a 42% probability that the actual number of deaths could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people, a projection that contrasts with the official figures from Nicolás Maduro's regime and underscores the extent of what may still remain unaccounted for.
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