Earthquakes in Venezuela

Powerful quake in Venezuela – people flee their homes

A powerful aftershock and several smaller quakes shook Venezuela early Monday morning, several media outlets report.

The major quake had a magnitude of 4.6 and does not appear to have caused any serious damage, but several people in both the capital Caracas and the port city of La Guaira fled into the streets in panic.

“I don’t know when we will experience a moment of real security,” says 51-year-old Concepción, who fled her house.

The powerful earthquakes that hit the country last week have led to at least 1,450 deaths. The new smaller quakes occur at the same time as the search for survivors in the rubble is in an intensive phase.

“The new quakes come at the worst possible time,” writes the newspaper El Nacional.

UN: We assume that 10,000 body bags are needed

Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Venezuela, says that the organization is considering that at least 10,000 people may have died in connection with the strong earthquakes in the country, reports Sky News.

He says that the death toll will “without a doubt” rise from the 1,719 confirmed dead so far. The UN assumes that 10,000 body bags are needed in Venezuela, says the coordinator.

– I really hope that the number will be lower than that.

According to the UN, at least 2,500 buildings have been damaged in the earthquakes, which had a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5. Most have collapsed. On Monday, rescue workers continued to search for people trapped under the rubble.