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Quakes kill thousands
Venezuela’s twin earthquakes killed at least 3,342 people, according to numbers released by the Venezuelan information ministry on Sunday, with 16,470 injured and 17,345 homeless.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez defended the government’s actions during a speech commemorating Venezuela’s 215th independence day, saying she deployed security forces immediately and announced the creation of a new military unit to help deal with emergencies and disasters.
The shocks, which struck on June 24, collapsed scores of buildings and left thousands homeless, especially in the coastal La Guaira area north of the capital Caracas.
The BBC described the disaster as one of the deadliest industrial accidents in Bangladesh in a decade.
No unrest, but anger
Delcy Rodriguez told a military ceremony marking Venezuela’s independence day, “There will be no social unrest here – what we have here is deep social solidarity,” while she said thousands of public officials and rescue teams were sent to dig out victims and find survivors.
The Guardian reported that many Venezuelans expressed anger at what they see as the US-backed government’s inadequate response to the 24 June disaster before international teams arrived.
The South China Morning Post said Rodriguez defended Venezuela’s response to the June 24 earthquakes and vowed the country would not descend into social unrest after the twin earthquakes killed more than 3,000 people.
In the same coverage, the South China Morning Post said Rodriguez’s main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, issued her own appeal.
Recovery and missing
As international rescue teams wrapped up operations, the Guardian said families were still trying to dig out bodies of loved ones from the wreckage in La Guaira, where the shocks left thousands homeless.
The Guardian described forensic technician Joel Mirabal estimating that in 60% to 70% of cases, there is a relative or neighbour available to identify a body when he comes to collect it, while he said, “Obviously, mass graves will have to be created,” because “The collapse is massive, and the bodies are buried under many layers of debris.”
RFI reported that since the double earthquake, 6,461 people have been rescued, while the UN says 50,000 people remain missing.
RFI also said that damaged airports, canceled flights, and impassable roads delayed intervention, and that rescuers’ work had gradually shifted “more focused on extracting bodies than on searching for survivors.”
