Caracas, June 25 (EFE).- Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said on Thursday that at least 164 people had been killed and nearly 1,000 injured following two powerful earthquakes that struck the country a day earlier, causing 30 aftershocks since the initial tremors.
«As of now, the figure we have recorded is 164 dead and 971 injured, with 30 aftershocks occurring since the two consecutive main events that took place at six in the evening yesterday,» Rodríguez said during a telephone interview broadcast by state television channel VTV.
She also announced the creation of an initial $200 million reconstruction fund for the areas affected by the earthquakes, where rescue teams continued searching for survivors under the rubble into the early hours of Thursday.
“I would like to announce the creation of an initial $200 million fund using resources we hold at the International Monetary Fund. This will allow us to rebuild infrastructure and hospitals, and construct housing for those who lost their homes,” Rodríguez said.
The acting president also instructed officials to establish a separate emergency fund to provide immediate assistance to victims of what she described as a tragedy that has brought mourning to dozens of families.
Rodríguez said the coastal state of La Guaira, neighbouring Caracas, was the area hardest hit by the earthquakes and had been declared a natural disaster zone because of the extent of the destruction, although she did not provide a precise figure for the number of collapsed buildings.
She added that at least 10 buildings had collapsed in the Greater Caracas area, which includes the capital and several neighbouring cities.
Rodríguez also appealed to the private sector for support in securing heavy machinery for rescue operations. She further confirmed the arrival of international rescue teams, including specialised groups certified by the United Nations, which she said were already en route to the country.
The Venezuelan Caribbean was shaken on Wednesday by two powerful earthquakes that struck just 39 seconds apart, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, respectively, according to the official U.S. tsunami warning system.
The National Tsunami Warning Center said the tremors constituted a «seismic doublet,» a phenomenon in which two high-magnitude earthquakes occur within seconds of one another in the same area. EFE
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