The death toll from twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela rose to 2,595, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Friday, an increase of 300 from the previous day, as rescue operations continued for more than a week after the country’s strongest tremors in over a century,
CNBC reports.
The government has not concluded its search and rescue efforts, Rodríguez said in her first press conference since taking power in January after the U.S. military operation that captured the country’s president Nicolás Maduro.
More than 12,000 people have been injured, Rodríguez said, without specifying how many remain missing. According to an unofficial and widely circulated online list, some 38,500 people were still unaccounted for, down from nearly 60,000 in the days immediately after the quakes.
A magnitude 7.2 quake was followed seconds later by a 7.5 mainshock last Wednesday, the strongest tremors to hit Venezuela since 1900. The quakes flattened buildings across Caracas and La Guaira — the coastal state that was hardest hit — and severely damaged Simón Bolívar International Airport, the main gateway to the capital.
Nearly all the officials from La Guaira were killed in the disaster, Rodríguez said.
Authorities say nearly 800 buildings collapsed, including 189 that were completely destroyed. A preliminary satellite analysis released by NASA and Oregon State University researchers, updated on Monday, estimated that about 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed.
The United Nations Development Programme projected direct physical damage at $6.7 billion, equivalent to about 6% of gross domestic product, while risk modeler Verisk estimated total economic losses of more than $10 billion.
The government said the quakes caused only minor delays at oil terminals, with exports appearing largely steady in the aftermath of the disaster. Authorities were also inspecting state-run PDVSA’s Catia La Mar fuel terminal, located in one of the hardest-hit areas, for damage.
The U.S. has mounted one of its largest disaster responses in years, deploying four search-and-rescue teams with more than 900 personnel in Venezuela and another roughly 800 in Caribbean hubs Puerto Rico and Curaçao, according to Reuters. The Trump administration has also pledged to mobilize $150 million in humanitarian aid.
