The death toll from Venezuela’s earthquakes has risen to 2,645 people

The death toll from the two devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela has risen to 2,645 dead and more than 12,600 injured, according to new official figures.

It was reported that thousands more were still missing after the earthquakes that struck on June 24 and toppled dozens of residential complexes, most of them in the coastal area of ​​La Guaira, north of the capital, Caracas.

The updated death toll comes as Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez rejected claims that her government was reacting too slowly to the devastation caused by the earthquakes, after days of widespread criticism of the official response.

Civilians – including survivors, family members, volunteer medics and foreign rescue teams – have flocked to disaster areas, especially the worst-hit northern state of La Guaira, since the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck last week.

Many of those digging through the rubble, along with international relief organisations, say the government response has been slow and ineffective, with delays in aid such as food and medical supplies and a continuing shortage of heavy machinery to move the rubble amid ongoing searches.

“It was a natural tragedy on a scale that we never imagined, even though we knew that a seismic event could happen in our country,” Rodriguez said in her first news conference since taking power in January, after the United States ousted her predecessor Nicolas Maduro.

“We didn’t wait a day, two days, or three days. We acted immediately.”

She said 4,000 officials were deployed immediately, rising to 14,000 the next day and then again to the current figure of 19,000. She told reporters she also issued an emergency decree to activate emergency protocols.

“We have done everything we can, and we will continue to do everything we can and more,” she said, adding that she had visited children in hospitals who had lost limbs and were mourning their loved ones.

“I’ve been through some very traumatic experiences,” Ms Rodriguez said.

Multi-storey building destroyed following earthquake response led by civilians

State television has regularly shown Ms. Rodriguez meeting with military and security officials while soldiers and police patrolled La Guaira’s main roads and sometimes directed traffic.

However, the response to the disaster is led by civilians, many of whom are volunteers, according to Reuters witnesses.

People spent days trying to extract their loved ones with their hands, picks and shovels, with the help of firefighters, civil protection teams, foreign rescue teams, student doctors and nurses, and civilians who usually served as teachers, veterinarians, and the occasional soldier.

Soldiers working for days alongside civilians in the six collapsed towers of a large public housing project in La Guaira said they had volunteered to help there.

Ms. Rodriguez said the government had not yet finished search and rescue efforts.

It did not mention the number of missing people. The unofficial, but widely used online, list fell to about 38,500 yesterday evening, after peaking at about 60,000 in the days immediately after the quakes.

A UN envoy said this week he would buy 10,000 body bags for Venezuela, and the US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 people were likely dead.

Rodriguez criticized what she called “media laboratories” because they create a perception of chaos, and said they were politically motivated.

She added: “The first media narrative developed in these media laboratories was: Everyone is heading to La Guaira, to cause chaos and obstruct search and rescue operations.”

Ms. Rodriguez said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have offered assistance and credit for recovery efforts. Venezuela has established a $200 million reconstruction fund with the International Monetary Fund, and the money will go to vetted contractors to rebuild homes.

Rescue operations are continuing

In the days immediately following the earthquakes, thousands of civilians, many on motorcycles, transported much of the water, food and other basic supplies that reached La Guaira.

Now, volunteers run shelters for those who have lost their homes, receiving some formal assistance but setting their own rules and creating their own tracking system for residents.

At one of the main medical centers serving the disaster area, a hospital in the municipality of Vargas, staff and residents said the flow of patients had declined compared to the days immediately following the quakes.

About 6 kilometers away, a field hospital belonging to the Brazilian Navy, which began operating on Monday, had treated 180 people as of yesterday, according to Commander Leonel Mariano.

The facility, spread over five tents near the beach, includes an intensive care unit, an operating room, orthopedics, pediatrics, general medicine, and a pharmacy.

“We are coordinating buses to bring people here from the shelters,” Mariano said.

“We have not performed surgery yet, but we have some cases in intensive care, and some serious cases.”

Doctors have converted the McDonald’s restaurant in La Guaira into a temporary health center treating about 200 patients a day since it opened last week. The site offers emergency care, donated medications, a pharmacy and a veterinary unit operating out of the restaurant’s former ice cream section.

Amid the devastation, moments of survival provide a glimmer of hope for families still searching for their loved ones.

“Miracle” as rescuers rescue a Venezuelan man eight days after the earthquakes

Security guard Hernan Alberto Gil was rescued from the rubble of the nine-storey Galerias Playa Grande shopping center early yesterday, after days of work by rescue teams from El Salvador, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela.

“I’m grateful to God that he kept him alive for several days,” said Josepmar Gonzalez, Gil’s wife. “He endured it all like a warrior.”

Mexican rescue teams pulled a dog named Sarita alive from a collapsed building after her owner alerted responders to noises under the rubble.

A military search and rescue team and a rescue dog named Kai were able to locate the dog, and she was then reunited with her owner, who said the rescue operation gave him hope that his missing daughter could be found alive.

The presence of security forces near collapsed buildings sometimes angered residents.

Some Venezuelans expressed their frustration on social media, sharing videos showing security officials moving through the destruction and seizing clothing, equipment and cash.

Reuters has not verified the authenticity of the videos, but the Interior Ministry said that four police officials were arrested at the crime scene and removed from their jobs due to “the seizure of financial assets obtained amid the rubble.”

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