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Caracas.- Venezuela marked one week this Wednesday since the double earthquake that left a toll of 2,295 dead and more than 12,000 people homeless, while rescue teams rush the final rescues amidst an avalanche of international aid.
n” “nDuring tonight, the distressing operation continued to save Hernán Gil, a security guard who was trapped in the guard booth where he worked following the double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, and who remains alive and in communication with the rescue team.
n” “nHis rescue has extended for more than 50 hours because there is a heavy load of materials in the basement where he was trapped, making it a very sensitive operation, according to what one of the 64 Portuguese rescuers who are part of this complicated operation told EFE.
n” “nChilean firefighter Sebastián Mocarquer, a member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, explained to EFE that 3,000 rescuers from 29 countries remain in the country and that they have been able to assist twelve people in the last six days, while the Chavista Executive stated that 6,461 people have been rescued.
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The firefighter said that usually these teams have a working window of between 5 to 10 days, which coincides with the opportunity for rescuing people alive in a disaster like the one that occurred in the South American country.
n” “nRescue teams will be returning to their countries and there will be a transition to begin recovering the remains of the deceased, which is being handled by the Venezuelan authorities due to equipment, legal, and forensic reasons.
n” “nMocarquer pointed out that the international response to this disaster in Venezuela has been “overwhelming” after the Caracas Executive requested assistance.
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You can also read: Death toll from earthquake in Venezuela rises to 2,295
n” “nIn addition to rescuers, Venezuela has received 707,063 tons of humanitarian aid over the past week, according to the president of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, who added that a website has been set up to receive international donations following the earthquakes that affected Caracas and six other states in the north of the country.
n” “nDespite ideological differences, the Venezuelan government has received support from countries such as Ecuador, Argentina, and El Salvador.
Likewise, the Donald Trump Administration maintained that there has been “no major problem” with the distribution of humanitarian aid following the earthquakes, and assured that Washington’s political plan for Caracas “remains intact,” as six months are about to pass since the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. troops.
n” “nThe U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Venezuela, John Barrett, said in a virtual press conference that the Venezuelan authorities “have complied” despite complaints from civil organizations regarding alleged obstacles and the politicization of the response by Delcy Rodríguez’s government.
n” “nThe official and commander of the U.S. Army South, Francis Donovan, reported that U.S. aid amounts to 300 million dollars and a team of 2,000 rescuers.
n” “nThe opening after the earthquake is also seen in the number of foreign media outlets that are now in the country, and who previously found it difficult to enter Venezuela due to visa procedures.
Nervousness and new reality
n” “nMeanwhile, Caracas is slowly returning to daily life with more businesses open and people going to their jobs, amidst the nervousness over new aftershocks, which have totaled 782 in the last week, while other people insist on searching for their relatives and those left homeless sleep in tents waiting to regain normalcy.
n” “nThe areas of Caracas that suffered the most damage remain cordoned off this Wednesday with tape that says ‘Do not enter, danger’, warnings that some ignore, while access to certain office buildings is temporarily restricted to evaluate or repair the damage.
n” “nIn the capital, with about five million inhabitants, the impact of the earthquake was concentrated in the Chacao municipality, in the east of the city, where three large buildings collapsed completely and about eighty suffered damage.
n” “nEmilia Rada, a 73-year-old woman, said she does not want to spend her remaining years in a shelter after losing her home in La Guaira, which is why she must stay in a sports complex in the coastal region, where hundreds of people are now living.
n” “nThe Government of Venezuela has estimated today that 12,841 people have lost their homes, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has documented 16,000 citizens who have had to seek an alternative place to live.
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