Venezuela quakes have killed 4,333, injured 16,740, National Assembly president says

CARACAS - The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,333, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez told reporters on July 11, announcing that the distribution of housing to those affected will begin next week.

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.

Rodriguez said acting President Delcy Rodriguez will allocate the first 200 homes to those affected next week, but 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, totalling about 584,000 sq m, 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.” REUTERS