Two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela within seconds of each other on the evening of June 24, killing at least 1,430 people as of Saturday and leaving rescuers racing to find survivors buried beneath collapsed buildings across the capital and the coast.
The first earthquake, measuring magnitude 7.2, struck near Yumare, in Yaracuy state, at 6:04 p.m. local time and was classified as a foreshock. It was followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5-magnitude mainshock that was the strongest tremor to hit the country in more than 125 years. At least 3,200 people have been injured, and 13 hospitals were damaged across the country.
Damage was concentrated in La Guaira and Caracas, where dozens of buildings collapsed. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello identified the Los Palos Grandes and Altamira neighborhoods as the worst-affected parts of the city. In La Guaira, volunteers dug through wreckage with their hands nearly 24 hours after the earthquakes, facing a shortage of heavy equipment and very limited government assistance.
The disaster compounds an already severe crisis:. With nearly 8 million people inside Venezuela were already in need of urgent humanitarian support before the earthquakes struck.
The United States announced $150 million in aid, deploying search-and-rescue teams and directing the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings to support relief operations. Colombia announced it would send more than 60 rescuers and four search dogs, while Spain said it would deploy a field hospital. The United Nations coordinated the rapid deployment of urban search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela.
No comments:
Post a Comment