Death toll in Venezuela twin earthquakes crosses 4,000 mark as economic crisis hinders recovery ops

The death toll in the devastating twin earthquakes in Venezuela crossed the 4,000 mark, the country's government confirmed, as they continue with the recovery operation. At least 4,118 people were killed, and 16,740 injured in the back-to-back quakes on 24 June that flattened entire districts in the coastal state of La Guaira, Venezuelan parliament chief Jorge Rodriguez wrote in a post on Telegram.

He mentioned that thousands or more are still listed as missing. Last month, a 7.5-magnitude quake – the biggest in Venezuela in over a century – struck 39 seconds after a 7.2-magnitude shock, flattening entire high-rise apartment blocks in the region.

While the rescue teams have halted the search operation for survivors, family members continue to scour the ruins for their loved ones in the hope of getting a dignified burial. The country is also reeling from aftershocks. On Friday, a 3.0 magnitude quake in central Caracas caused momentary panic and led to buildings being evacuated.

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Economic crisis a major hurdle

The scale of the recovery effort facing Venezuela, where state services have been severely degraded by a prolonged economic crisis, is huge. On Wednesday, the United Nations issued an urgent appeal for nearly $300 million towards earthquake relief operations to assist 1.3 million people in urgent need of aid in the South American nation where non-governmental organisations until recently were targets of government repression.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has estimated direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure due to the quakes is around a whopping $37 billion. In light of this, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has called for the release of frozen assets held abroad to be used towards the recovery.

On Wednesday, she said that he had asked British monarch King Charles III to release about 30 tons of Venezuelan gold frozen under UK sanctions. She went on to defend her country’s emergency response to the twin earthquakes, vowing the country would not descend into social unrest.

With inputs from agencies.