MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela's quake toll passes 2,295 a week on, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for

Search efforts continued in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit, where most of the victims are concentrated

A week after the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela, the official toll rose to at least 2,295 dead and 11,267 injured, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, who has been the main voice for the figures since the disaster. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the country, Gianluca Rampolla, warned that the number “will keep growing” as rescue and debris-removal work advances.

Search efforts continued in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit, where most of the victims are concentrated. According to the official toll, some 6,461 people were rescued by more than 4,000 emergency workers, and the international teams, made up of rescuers from 24 countries, numbered about 4,099 personnel, 153 dogs and dozens of support vehicles, alongside 17,832 Venezuelan volunteers. Although the 72-hour window considered critical closed days ago, teams were still recording rescues: among them, a three-year-old boy found after six days under the rubble and a 21-year-old man rescued after 106 hours.

The number of missing people remains the subject of conflicting accounts. The International Organization for Migration estimated that up to 6.76 million people could have been affected by the quakes, while other sources speak of tens of thousands of missing-persons reports and the government uses lower figures. Independent verification of the official data by journalists in the field has been hampered by severe infrastructure damage and restrictions on access to the worst-hit areas. The US Geological Survey had warned, through predictive modeling, that the confirmed toll could rise considerably.

The material damage is extensive. A preliminary satellite assessment by the United Nations Development Programme estimated losses to housing and economic assets at about $6.7 billion, around 6% of Venezuela's gross domestic product, while an analysis by Oregon State University put the number of damaged or destroyed buildings at close to 59,000. The government reported 12,841 people had lost their homes, while the UN refugee agency documented some 16,000. Venezuela has also recorded more than 780 aftershocks since the two major quakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5.

The emergency mobilized a broad international response despite political differences. The United States pledged $150 million for the response and the European Union five million euros, while countries such as Ecuador, Argentina, El Salvador and Brazil sent assistance. Brazil's Defense Minister, José Múcio, visited Venezuela to assess possible cooperation on rebuilding homes and infrastructure. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who took office after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by US troops in January, pledged to build new homes before the end of the year and created a commission to assess the damage.