The confirmed death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24 has reached 2,295, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced on Wednesday.
In a national briefing broadcast on state television channel Venezolana de Television (VTV), Rodriguez detailed the widening scale of the disaster, noting that the number of documented injuries has climbed to 11,267, while official displacement figures now stand at 12,841 people.
More than 4,000 emergency personnel deployed across the impacted zones have successfully pulled 6,461 people from collapsed structures.
"Hope remains intact," Rodriguez said.
Electoral and municipal records indicate that the region has been hit by 782 aftershocks since the initial 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude "seismic doublet" tore. However, seismologists confirmed that both the frequency and subterranean intensity of these tremors have steadily declined over the last 48 hours.
"The threat seems to be diminishing, but it hasn't disappeared," Rodriguez cautioned, urging citizens to remain vigilant around compromised concrete masonry.
According to a preliminary assessment of satellite data published by NASA, more than 58,000 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
Search and rescue operations continue at full speed, with thousands of rescuers from more than 30 countries continuing to pull survivors from the debris on Wednesday, but as the days go by, the hope of those who have loved ones buried in the rubble fades away.
The UN has said that it is acquiring 10,000 body bags.
