Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 5,000; 'El Niño Warning' Adds to Crisis

The death toll from the series of earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month has now surpassed 5,000.

Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, announced that the official death toll reached 5,069 as of the 17th, local time.

The number of injured remains at 16,740, consistent with previous reports.

Rodríguez previously stated that most of the injured have already been discharged from hospitals.

On June 24, consecutive earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela, devastating La Guaira state, a coastal region located north of the capital, Caracas.

It is reported that the identities of at least 300 of the deceased have yet to be confirmed.

Authorities are reportedly collecting DNA samples from the bodies for identification before interring them in a communal cemetery.

Approximately 20,000 displaced people are living in temporary shelters, many of which lack adequate drinking water and sanitation facilities.

While the Venezuelan government has not released official statistics on the missing, a separate count by the opposition estimates that approximately 30,000 people remain unaccounted for.

The United Nations estimated on June 27, three days after the earthquake, that the number of missing persons could reach 50,000.

Amid this situation, an official from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that El Niño could cause significant further harm to earthquake victims.

Lucas Guedes Akrat, IOM Venezuela Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator, stated, "There are discussions within the UN regarding the possibility of a very strong El Niño forming," adding, "El Niño could strike Venezuela while many residents have already lost their homes."

El Niño is a phenomenon in which sea surface temperatures near the equator rise above average, causing significant changes in weather patterns and triggering extreme weather events such as typhoons, floods, and droughts.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated in a report released last month that the El Niño phenomenon has already begun this year, and there is a 63% probability that it could develop into a "super El Niño," with tropical Pacific sea temperatures rising more than 2°C (3.6°F) above average.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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