A week after the Venezuela earthquakes, here’s what you need to knowExBulletin

Residents on Tuesday search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in the June 24 earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela. Ariana Cubellos/AP .

. Ariana Cubellos/AP

It has been a week since the worst seismic disaster in Venezuela in more than a century. Thousands of people are feared to have been killed, with the official death toll continuing to rise as hope of finding survivors under the rubble fades.

The South American country is now facing a humanitarian catastrophe, on top of the deep crises it was already dealing with before the earthquakes.

Here’s a look at some of the key developments since the evening when the tragedy occurred.

The number of earthquakes in Venezuela has increased

Rare twin earthquakes in Venezuela occurred within seconds of each other on June 24 at 6:04 p.m., with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5. The epicenter of the earthquakes was in the state of Yaracuy, west of the capital, Caracas, and they were felt by residents of Venezuela and even parts of neighboring countries. Venezuelan authorities say the most affected area was La Guaira state.

Jorge Rodriguez, head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, said that as of Wednesday, the number of people killed by the earthquakes had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,200 others were injured. But tens of thousands of people are still missing.

The death toll “will unavoidably and unfortunately continue to rise as the search and rescue operation continues, and as we are able to provide more details to assess the effects of the earthquakes,” Gianluca Rampolla, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Venezuela, said at a press conference on Monday.

A rescue dog from the Argentine search and rescue team searches for bodies under the rubble of a collapsed building in Carrabaleda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on June 28, following twin earthquakes on June 24. Thousands of rescuers, relatives and volunteers dig day and night through piles of concrete to find people. Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images .

. Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images

Rampolla said that the United Nations had agreed with the Venezuelan government to purchase 10,000 body bags, adding, “We really hope that the number will be less than that.”

In addition to the victims, the sheer number of people left homeless can be staggering. An analysis of satellite data by Corey Shear and Jamon van den Hoek of Oregon State University estimated that 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed by the quakes.

Up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disaster, and will need shelter, water, sanitation, health care and other relief materials, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

Residents are taking rescue efforts into their own hands

Public anger has grown over the response of the US-backed Venezuelan government, which critics say has been slow and insufficient. Many people in disaster areas had to fend for themselves to recover the dead. Residents are digging with their hands to search for their loved ones under the rubble.

And in one of the country’s worst-hit areas, Los Corrales, in the coastal state of La Guaira, neighborhood volunteers were recovering bodies from collapsed buildings, John Otis reported for NPR. Since there were no body bags, they resorted to using garbage bags and plastic sheets.

One resident, Rosalia Bustamante, said the NPR government’s delay in delivering rescue equipment to devastated areas had claimed many lives. I have lost many friends who were inside a 12 story building that collapsed during the earthquakes.

“There were people in the ruins who responded when we called out to them,” Bustamante said. “But now they’re dead.”

A US Marine helicopter flies over an earthquake-hit area in Carrabaleda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Tuesday. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images .

. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

The arrival of police and army forces was slow. Residents say that when they got there, they set up roadblocks and demanded government permits from doctors and rescue workers trying to reach.

Construction worker Julio Melendez tried to bring a jackhammer to the disaster area to help break up the rubble and search for survivors. He told NPR that the process took two days because police wanted to see his permit as well as his jackhammer sales receipt.

“The only thing the authorities are doing is blocking the road,” Melendez said.

As the crucial 72-hour period to find survivors passed, some miraculous rescues continued. Six days after the earthquakes, a 3-year-old boy was pulled alive from the rubble in La Guaira. Interim President Delcy Rodriguez wrote on the messaging app Telegram that the rescue of the boy, named Cleber Moran, was “a source of hope for our people.”

“The heroism and solidarity of the people is amazing, and this somehow clearly alleviates the pain and needs of the affected people on the ground,” said the UN’s Rampolla.

Stories also emerge of people who have gone missing. They include Venezuelans deported by the United States hours before the quakes struck, and who died when the hotel where they were being treated collapsed, NPR’s Sergio Martinez Beltran reported. There were 146 people deported on the plane from the United States, but it is unclear whether any of them survived.

Alonso Guaniba Toyo told NPR that his brother, 32-year-old Victor, is among the missing deportees. “The government is not doing anything,” said Alonso Guaniba Toyo. “My family is looking for him in hospitals, in shelters, in morgues.”

The humanitarian crisis is worsening

Thousands of people now live on sidewalks, parks or football fields. Residents of a mid-rise building in Caracas told NPR they feared returning to their building after it swayed violently due to earthquakes, NPR’s Eder Peralta reported.

“How are we going to survive in a place that is about to collapse?” Myrna Castillo told NPR from a park camp where she now sleeps with her children.

She said the government did not provide her with any help, shelter or guidance. “It’s just one mess after another,” she said.

The Venezuelan government said it would open large camps to house people who have become homeless. Acting President Rodriguez told state television that a presidential commission was assessing the condition of housing and infrastructure damaged by the earthquakes. She also said work would begin on new homes “in a very short time”.

People reach out for supplies from volunteers on Tuesday, days after twin earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela. Mathias Delacroix/AP .

. Mathias Delacroix/AP

Venezuela’s healthcare system, already struggling due to years of underinvestment, is now on the verge of collapse.

The majority of people in the worst-hit areas are now “without food, drinking water, shelter, or access to basic health care,” Carol Basem, senior program manager at International Medical Corps’ Emergency Response Unit, told NPR.

“Hospitals are overcrowded. Some are working beyond their capacity. Health workers are definitely exhausted,” Bassem said.

The United Nations is now warning of the spread of infectious diseases. Many hospitals have been damaged and doctors have been lost.

Countries around the world are sending help

International governments and relief organizations have offered support for the emergency response and recovery in the besieged country.

The role played by Washington in Venezuela after the arrest of its leader Nicolas Maduro has raised expectations about a possible American response. Maduro was replaced by his deputy, Delcy Rodriguez. Even as the Trump administration continues to work with the Rodriguez-led government, it has kept many Maduro officials in office.

American firefighters from Fairfax County, Virginia, pull a survivor from the rubble of a building that collapsed in the earthquakes that struck La Guaira, Venezuela, on Sunday. Mathias Delacroix/AP .

. Mathias Delacroix/AP

In the wake of the earthquakes, the United States announced what appeared to be one of its strongest responses to a natural disaster since the dismantling of USAID, as NPR’s Fatima Tanis reported. This includes sending search and rescue teams and military assets to help with logistics, as well as allocating $150 million to charities and UN agencies.

Several countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia also pledged support. The European Union said it had sent more than $5 million in humanitarian aid and sent hundreds of responders from member states to support Venezuelan teams on the ground. The European Union has activated the Copernicus satellite image service to assist rescue teams on the ground.

The United Kingdom sent specialized search and rescue teams, and announced humanitarian funding of more than $2 million.

Brazil, Chile, China, India, Japan, Turkey and other countries have also pledged support or sent emergency crews.

NGOs, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Caritas network of Catholic organizations, are also providing assistance, the Associated Press reported.

The task ahead of us is enormous.

Cesar Jimenez, of the relief group Project Hope in Venezuela, which supports local health care systems, told NPR that the situation was bad. Health care facilities in the affected areas collapsed.

“We are doing our best as Venezuelans to support our people,” Jimenez said. “This is a unique moment in our history. No one expected this to happen, and we need a lot of support.”

Fatima Al-Qassab reported from Campinas, Brazil. Eder Peralta, John Otis, Fernando Naro and Maria Graterol reported in Venezuela. Sergio Martinez-Beltran, Fatima Tanis and Manuel Rueda also contributed reporting.

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