Venezuela earthquake death toll tops 1,700; UN prepares 10,000 body bags

Tropical wave with heavy rain forecast, raising fears of further casualties

A man looks at a building destroyed by a series of earthquakes in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on Monday (local time). [AFP]

The death toll from a series of powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela has surpassed 1,700, according to figures released Monday (local time), as the UN and the international community moved to secure 10,000 body bags in anticipation of further fatalities.

According to The New York Times and other foreign media, Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez announced in a televised address that the official confirmed death toll from the June 24 earthquakes had risen to 1,719 — up 269 from the 1,450 reported the previous day. The number of injured stood at 5,034, while 15,866 people had been displaced.

Men stand atop rubble as they search for survivors on June 27 (local time), three days after a series of earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela. [AP]

Rodriguez said more than 600 aftershocks had been recorded since the magnitude-7.2 and magnitude-7.5 earthquakes struck on June 24. A magnitude-4.6 aftershock hit Monday morning, with residents across the capital Caracas reporting strong tremors.

Rodriguez said 855 buildings had been damaged nationwide and that the figure was rising daily. He added that 189 structures had collapsed entirely.

With the 72-hour "golden window" for rescuing survivors now passed, the Venezuelan government and the UN are preparing for worst-case scenarios.

Residents grieve as they receive updates from rescue teams following the earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Monday (local time). [Reuters]

Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the UN resident coordinator in Venezuela overseeing relief operations on the ground, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York via video briefing that his office was working with the Venezuelan government to secure 10,000 body bags in preparation for a rising death toll.

"This is based on a hypothesis, and it is a very sad one," Rampolla del Tindaro said. "I sincerely hope the actual number of victims will be lower than that."

He said 40 search-and-rescue teams comprising about 2,000 personnel from 27 countries had been deployed to the affected areas.

Rampolla del Tindaro warned that a tropical wave bringing heavy rain was expected to arrive within hours, expressing concern over the additional hardship it could bring to the tens of thousands of people already displaced from their homes.

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