Death toll from Venezuela earthquakes rises to 1,430
The death toll from two powerful earthquakes in northern Venezuela has risen to 1,430, with tens of thousands of people still reported missing as international rescue teams continue searching through collapsed buildings.
Venezuelan officials announced the latest death toll on Saturday, saying they were still counting victims from the disaster. Hundreds of rescue workers remain deployed across the affected areas, where many people are still believed to be trapped under rubble.
A website created after the earthquakes to help Venezuelans report missing relatives, Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela, has received 50,745 reports of people who remain unaccounted for. The reports have not been independently verified, but they point to the scale of the search effort still underway across the affected region.
Venezuelan officials said 3,238 people were injured by the earthquakes, while 3,142 families have been left homeless and are being housed in shelters across seven states. Officials said more than 5,000 people have received hospital assistance, while 7,500 others have been evaluated through triage systems set up after the disaster.
The earthquakes struck west of Caracas near Montalbán, shaking the capital and causing buildings to collapse in several areas. La Guaira state, north of Caracas, was among the hardest-hit areas.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the event was a doublet, with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake.
International rescue teams, including crews from the United States, Mexico, El Salvador and the European Union, have arrived in Venezuela and are working alongside local responders at collapsed buildings and other damaged sites.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
