The Venezuelan Earthquake Disaster Worsens.. Death and Injury Toll Rises

SadaNews - The President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, reported that the death toll from the two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday has risen to 1430 as of Saturday.

Rodriguez also noted that 3238 people were injured as a result of the strong earthquakes.

These new figures came as rescue workers continued to search for survivors from the earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale and caused devastation in the South American nation.

Venezuelan families have reported missing at least 68,900 people as of Saturday morning.

Venezuelans looking for their loved ones and neighbors used shovels, heavy equipment, ropes, and even their bare hands over piles of collapsed concrete across La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit states in Venezuela.

The Simón Bolívar International Airport has partially reopened to receive cargo flights carrying humanitarian aid.

The United Nations estimated on Saturday that about seven million people may have been affected by the earthquakes that struck the country.

The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, stated in a report, "Approximately 6.76 million people may have been affected by the devastating earthquakes," basing its estimates on available population data and damage analysis.

It added that these estimates, which include around two million people in the capital Caracas alone, "highlight the potential wide-ranging humanitarian impact of this disaster."

In Geneva, Tom Fletcher, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told AFP: "This is an extremely complex emergency response," adding, "We have over 50,000 missing... so we have a monumental task ahead of us to search through the rubble."

The damage caused by the earthquakes has been estimated at about seven billion dollars, which is equivalent to about 6 percent of Venezuela's gross domestic product, according to the United Nations Development Programme on Saturday.