CARACAS — The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,490, 4,490, a senior official said Sunday.Meanwhile, 315 of the dead have not yet been identified, the official said.The official tally of injured remained unchanged at 16,740, while 6,462 people have been rescued and about 17,000 have been left homeless.Acting President Delcy Rodriguez will allocate the first 200 homes to those affected next week, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez told reporters on Saturday, but he did not give any more details.Rodriguez also said that 856 buildings were affected, of which 190 either collapsed completely or suffered structural collapse.According to the government’s preliminary estimates, 25,000 homes are needed. Authorities have already identified around 40 plots of land, totaling about 584,000 square meters, for housing projects in Osma and Chuspa.Rodriguez said search operations are continuing, saying, “As long as there is life, there is hope. We still have one or two sites where the situation remains uncertain, active sites where we are searching for survivors.”Authorities have assisted 120,794 families and established 108 temporary camps housing 19,583 people, while 17,907 remain without permanent housing.Relief teams have distributed 9,995 metric tons of food and more than 18.5 million liters of water, while 32,401 patients have received medical care.The response involves 31,837 deployed personnel, 30,535 volunteers, and 2,422 international rescuers.On June 24, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck the South American nation just 39 seconds apart.The quakes caused widespread destruction, prompting a large-scale national and international humanitarian response.
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