Caracas, Venezuela. Rescue teams and residents searched for survivors on Friday as the death toll from twin earthquakes in Venezuela rose above 900, with foreign crews and aid only beginning to reach devastated areas nearly two days after the disaster.
Officials said 920 people had died, 172 remained trapped and 3,360 were injured after the earthquakes struck parts of Caracas and surrounding areas on Wednesday evening. More than 50,000 people were reported missing.
Latest official toll
The government said the earthquakes devastated parts of Caracas and nearby areas, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured. The search for survivors continued as authorities and volunteers worked through damaged neighborhoods.
Aftershocks and damage
The ground shook again on Friday afternoon with a weaker 4.9-magnitude tremor felt in Caracas and nearby Maracay.
A U.N. report estimated direct damage from the two earthquakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, at about $6.7 billion. The second quake was Venezuela’s most powerful in more than a century.
Relief efforts
Frustration grew over the uneven pace of relief in some of the hardest-hit areas, including La Guaira state, where residents and volunteers were still digging through rubble by hand because of shortages of heavy equipment and limited official presence.
Reuters witnesses traveled along highways cracked by the quakes and passed dozens of buildings reduced to broken concrete and twisted metal. Some ruins were spray-painted with building names to help rescuers identify locations.
Volunteers transported supplies on motorcycles from Caracas and Valencia.
Families waiting for help
Jennifer Palacios, 25, said her 6-year-old son and five other relatives remained buried in La Guaira city’s eight-tower Hugo Chavez housing complex.
“It’s the community that has managed to get people out alive,” she said. “We need them to bring cranes to move the slabs. There are still people trapped.”
Political implications
The disaster could have political consequences for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has sought to portray herself as an agent of political change even though she served as vice president to the ousted Nicolas Maduro.
