Nearly 5,000 people are expected to have died in two successive earthquakes that devastated Venezuela on June 24, while the UN estimates over 50,000 more are missing, with thousands trapped under the rubble. The number of confirmed deaths is now higher, at 5,023, lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez announced on Thursday.
The twin earthquakes, registering magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck the South American nation.
Officials say that rescue teams remain deployed, but locals complain about slow responses. International rescue teams sent in the immediate aftermath of the disaster have left as the focus moves to providing humanitarian relief.
Lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said in a post on social media platform X that the total number of those injured has risen to 18,000, while 17,907 are internally displaced. According to him, the quakes damaged 856 buildings, including 190 that collapsed.
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.
Authorities have assisted 128,324 families and established 107 temporary camps housing 20,857 people.
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 Venezuela in urgent need of aid.
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