The death toll from the Venezuela earthquake rises to 1,719, with more than 50,000 buildings damaged

[Financial News] More than five days after the series of powerful earthquakes in Venezuela, the confirmed death toll has surpassed 1,700. Satellite radar readings suggest that at least 58,000 buildings were damaged.
According to foreign media outlets including CNN, Jorge Rodríguez, speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, said in a broadcast on state television on the 29th local time that the cumulative death toll from the earthquake sequence that struck west of Caracas on the 24th had reached 1,719. That is 269 more than the figure announced the previous day, 1,450. The number of injured stood at 5,034, while 15,866 people were displaced.
Rodríguez said more than 600 aftershocks had occurred through the 29th following the twin quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on the 24th. A magnitude 4.6 aftershock also struck on the morning of the 29th.
He said 855 buildings nationwide had been damaged and that the number was rising every day. He added that 189 buildings had completely collapsed.
In connection with this, researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a statement on the 29th that analysis of satellite radar data showed about 58,870 buildings had been damaged by the quake. However, the figure is based on surface-change analysis and has not been verified on the ground.
On the same day, Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the UN resident coordinator in Venezuela, said at a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters in New York that preparations were under way for a possible increase in the death toll. He said the government was working with Venezuela to secure 10,000 body bags. Del Tindaro said, "This is based on a kind of assumption, and it is deeply unfortunate," adding, "I sincerely hope the actual number of victims will be lower than that."
He said about 2,000 members of 40 search-and-rescue teams from 27 countries were currently deployed in Venezuela. He added, "A tropical wave bringing heavy rain is expected to arrive within the next few hours," expressing concern about further damage to displaced residents who have already lost their homes and are sheltering elsewhere.
On the same day, CNBC reported that the number of missing persons registered on local missing-person websites had reached at least 46,000. Citing a U.S. government official, the outlet said about 5,000 Americans live in Venezuela, 12 of them are missing, and around 300 people have asked the State Department for help.

[email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter