One week after the devastating twin earthquakes, at least 2,300 people have been reported dead and tens of thousands are still missing. Grueling rescue work has revealed system-wide failures.
Image: Miguel Medina/AFP
This couple can only stand and hope amid the rubble while rescue workers search for their children, who remain trapped underneath. Last Wednesday, two consecutive earthquakes with a magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela. A week later, authorities have now reported nearly 3,000 deaths. The likelihood of finding survivors has now become increasingly slim.
Image: Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERS
Aerial footage reveals the scale of the disaster: in the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, north of Caracas on the coast, the earthquake destroyed entire neighborhoods. Tens of thousands have been injured, and the United Nations estimates that 50,000 people are missing. Many are homeless and have been forced to sleep in stadiums or outdoors by the roadside. Food and water are running low.
Image: REUTERS
On July 1, acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a seven-day period of national mourning, saying the country was praying for the injured, missing and the families who have lost loved ones. Speaking to Venezuelans, she said the country’s “soul is torn apart by the human losses.”
Image: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/picture alliance
Yet time and again, there are small miracles. On July 2, a 43-year-old man was rescued after being trapped beneath a collapsed building for eight days. On June 30, Jordanian rescue workers pulled a toddler alive from the rubble. The boy reportedly received first aid at the scene and was taken to hospital.
Image: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/picture alliance
Numerous countries have sent rescue teams, military forces and aid supplies to the South American nation. The population is facing both great hardship and anger, with accusations that the government’s response to the earthquakes was belated, uncoordinated and inadequate. Even before the quake, 70% of Venezuelans were living in poverty.
Image: Miguel Medina/AFP
Six months after the capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro by the US, Venezuela finds itself in a fragile transitional phase. The earthquakes put an end — for the time being — to hopes for a fresh start. The government under Rodriguez was ill-equipped to handle the disaster, with decades of sanctions, mismanagement and corruption devastating infrastructure and the healthcare system.
Image: Federico Parra/AFP
The dire conditions are now glaringly apparent: thousands of displaced people are sleeping in overcrowded emergency shelters or out in the open, with no access to clean water. Medical associations fear the spread of infectious diseases, and waste disposal is also becoming a problem. Aid organizations have reported a dramatic rise in sexual violence against women and children.
Image: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/picture alliance
Public hospitals are suffering from shortages of water, energy, equipment and staff. The UN World Food Program has called for $50 million (€43.6 million) in funding to provide for around 500,000 people in Venezuela for three months. The Latin American country will also rely on international aid in the long term for post-earthquake reconstruction.
Image: Maxwell Briceno/REUTERS8 images1 | 88 imageshttps://p.dw.com/p/5GS3P
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