AzerNEWS, by Qabil Ashirov: The death toll from the two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 3,342, according to Jorge Rodríguez, president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, AzerNEWS reports.
In a post on social media, Rodríguez said the number of injured has reached 16,740, while 6,462 people have been rescued from beneath collapsed buildings. The disaster has also left 17,345 people homeless, prompting authorities to establish 79 temporary shelters for displaced residents.
Rodríguez added that humanitarian assistance has so far been delivered to 86,794 families. Relief operations have included the distribution of 9,585 tonnes of food and 669,008 liters of drinking water to the affected areas.
Search-and-rescue and relief efforts involve 29,567 military and police personnel, supported by 27,482 volunteers, he said.
According to local media reports, the government has launched a dedicated telephone hotline and digital platform to receive reports of missing persons. However, officials have yet to disclose the official number of people still unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, a citizen-led initiative titled “Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela” (“Missing in the Venezuela Earthquake”) has registered more than 31,000 missing-person reports on its online platform.
The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and occurring just 39 seconds apart, were confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on June 24.
In an assessment released on June 26, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that the earthquakes caused approximately $6.7 billion in direct physical damage.
Search-and-rescue operations remain ongoing, and authorities have warned that the number of fatalities and injuries could continue to rise as emergency teams reach additional affected areas.
Prophetic Link:
“As I hear of the terrible calamities that from week to week are taking place, I ask myself: What do these things mean? The most awful disasters are following one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of seemingly disorganized, unregulated forces, but in them God’s purpose may be read. They are one of the means by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8, page 252.1