The death toll from two devastating earthquakes that hit Venezuela last month has surpassed 4,300, a senior lawmaker said Saturday.
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, brother of interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, estimated the death toll at 4,333 people, compared to 4,118 on Friday.
On June 24, earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, flattening entire high-rise buildings into layers of rubble.
Camps for homeless families have sprung up in stadiums, squares and on sidewalks. More than 19,000 people currently live in these camps, Rodriguez said.
Venezuelan and foreign volunteers provide medical care in tents set up in open areas and distribute food.
Rodriguez did not say how many people were still missing, but the United Nations estimated that 50,000 people are still missing.
He rejected the idea that the government would suspend the search for bodies because families fear the rubble will be cleared indiscriminately.
Initial government estimates indicate that around 25,000 homes will be needed to house people.
Rodriguez said the government would begin in the coming days to provide families with apartments that were under construction before the quake.
But he added that significant resources will be needed to build more, provide rental assistance and offer loans to purchase properties.
The government has allocated more than 40 plots of land in La Guaira, totaling about 584,000 square meters, for the construction of new homes, Rodriguez said.
He explained that the land is located in safe plains, far from the coastal area, where hundreds of buildings were damaged and more than 180 completely collapsed.
Additionally, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez this week asked Britain’s King Charles III to release Venezuela’s gold reserves, which are currently held at the Bank of England.
