Death Toll from Venezuela Earthquake Rises to 2,595; Over 12,000 Injured

▲ Earthquake damage in Venezuela

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 24 has surpassed 2,500.

Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez stated in a press conference on July 2 (local time) that the number of confirmed deaths from the earthquake has reached 2,595.

She reported that the number of injured has exceeded 12,000, with 189 buildings completely collapsed and 6,462 people rescued.

President Rodriguez added that the Venezuelan government has not yet concluded its search and rescue operations.

An official count of the missing has not been released.

However, the number of missing persons reported on an unofficial website tracking earthquake victims, which reached nearly 60,000 immediately after the quake, has decreased to approximately 38,500 as of the evening of July 2.

Interim President Rodriguez announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have offered support and loans for Venezuela's earthquake recovery efforts.

She explained that Venezuela is working with the IMF to establish a reconstruction fund worth 200 million dollars (approximately 306.6 billion won) and plans to distribute these funds to contractors to rebuild destroyed homes.

Residents of La Guaira State, which suffered the most severe damage, have expressed frustration, claiming that the government failed to act quickly on search and rescue operations in the initial stages and left the site neglected.

International aid organizations have also pointed out that the Venezuelan government's disaster response has been slow, citing delays in the delivery of relief supplies such as food and medical goods to the affected areas, as well as a persistent shortage of heavy equipment to clear debris.

However, Interim President Rodriguez did not accept the criticism that the government responded sluggishly to the earthquake damage.

"We knew that an earthquake could occur in our country, but this event was a natural disaster of an unimaginable scale," she said. "We did not wait one, two, or three days; we took immediate action."

She added that the government deployed 4,000 personnel to the site immediately after the earthquake, followed by 14,000 the next day, and that the number of government personnel has now increased to 19,000.

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