The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,500, with rescuers battling to save more lives trapped under massive debris.
Lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez reported that the death toll has reached at least 4,500, with over 18,000 injured and 17,907 displaced.
He said more than 30,000 volunteers had signed up to help victims during the critical phase of the disaster and that the government is seeking to use their services in the construction and repair of homes destroyed in the tragedy.
Thousands of families remain homeless in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck the country within one minute.
Parts of coastlines and residential areas have been left in ruins, which would require hundreds of millions to reconstruct the public infrastructure and, above all, provide assistance to the victims.
The government has now launched a Unified Housing Registry, which will serve both as a census and as a database for state-ordered financial assistance to quake victims.
The government also plans to set up camps with single-family transitional housing “while permanent homes are being built," Rodriguez said.
The United Nations launched an appeal for roughly $300 million to assist 1.3 million people in urgent need of aid in Venezuela.
The organisation has requested the immediate release of the pending $15 million to repair the country’s essential infrastructure, including damaged hospitals, and to maintain basic sanitation in camps for the displaced to prevent a health emergency.
On Friday, a 3.0 magnitude tremor in central Caracas caused momentary panic and led to buildings being evacuated.
Also read: Venezuela earthquakes expose critical flaws in early warning tech
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