Venezuela quake death toll rises to 4,333

Caracas, July 12 (IANS) The death toll from the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to 4,333, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez on Saturday said 16,740 people were injured and 6,462 had been rescued. Authorities have set up 94 temporary camps sheltering more than 18,000 people.

He said about 30,000 volunteers had signed up to help victims during the critical phase of the disaster, and that the government has proposed involving them in home construction and repair, Xinhua news agency reported.

As many families remain homeless, Rodriguez said the government had launched a Unified Housing Registry, which will serve both as a census and as a database for state-ordered financial assistance to quake victims.

He said the government needed to move quickly to provide housing for those who had lost their homes permanently and to repair homes that were partially damaged.

The government also plans to set up camps with single-family transitional housing “while permanent homes are being built,” Rodriguez said.

He added that the National Assembly would move ahead with reforming the rental law and promoting a credit and subsidy system to help quake-affected families buy homes.

Regarding Venezuelan funds frozen abroad due to economic sanctions by the United States and other countries, Rodriguez said acting President Delcy Rodriguez has sent letters to various governments requesting the release of those assets.

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez earlier expressed gratitude for the humanitarian aid provided by 28 countries to support victims of the country’s recent quakes.

She made the remarks after inspecting a collection center in Caracas, where more than 2,000 tonnes of international aid are sorted for distribution to temporary camps housing victims of the June 24 earthquakes.

“Venezuela never tires of thanking the countries, the peoples of the world, and the governments of the world that have offered a helping hand,” Rodriguez said.

“Each country will be able to see how its aid is being used so that the Venezuelan people feel the friendly helping hand of that country,” she added.

Thanks to the international response to the tragedy, Venezuela knows it is not alone, said Rodriguez.

“The most important thing is to look to the future, how we are going to recover, how we are going to rebuild the affected areas.”

–IANS

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