At least 1,943 people died and 10,571 were injured in the two earthquakes on June 24 in Venezuela, according to a new official report released this Tuesday (30).
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, also reported, in the official bulletin, that there are 15,866 people affected by the disaster. The previous balance, released on Monday, recorded 1,719 deaths.
A strong tremor hit Caracas and the neighboring state of La Guaira again this Monday morning (29), almost five days after the double earthquake that left a provisional death toll of almost 1,500. This is the strongest tremor recorded since Wednesday (24), when the two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 occurred in less than two minutes.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), The epicenter of Monday’s 4.6 magnitude earthquake was located 27 kilometers north of Caraballedaa popular resort among Caracas residents.
At the time of the new tremor, Fernan Hernández was trying to find his brother in the rubble of the five-story building where he lived in La Guaira. “The difference from the previous earthquake is that that one came from the side. This one came from the ground, which made the ground vibrate. We all felt it,” a 57-year-old Venezuelan resident told AFP.
“The panic was horrible. We really want them to help us as much as possible to recover the bodies,” he added, standing in front of the pile of cement, rubble and dust. Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Assembly, said in a Telegram message: “We just had an aftershock of moderate intensity. We have no reports of additional damage anywhere in the national territory“.
This new tremor occurs as Venezuelan and international rescue teams race against time to try to rescue people alive under the rubble. Authorities avoid mentioning missing people, but, according to UN data, there are approximately 50,000 missing.. In La Guaira, destruction is widespread, with buildings reduced to rubble or leaning. The Venezuelan government reported that 774 buildings collapsed and 189 completely collapsed.
*With information from AFP
