The death toll from the powerful pair of earthquakes that struck the Latin American country of Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,561, according to a report on Tuesday by Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu. The president of the country’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said a total of 16,740 people had been injured in the earthquakes.
Rodriguez said the authorities had provided assistance to 128,324 families. In addition, 107 temporary shelters had been set up for 20,231 people, and 17,907 people had taken refuge in them. He also said 856 buildings had been damaged in the earthquakes, of which 190 had collapsed.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck the South American country on June 24. In a statement at the time, the USGS said the death toll could exceed 10,000. The epicenter of the earthquakes was Venezuela’s northern coast, an area that holds several of the country’s oil refineries. According to US media outlet CNN, the earthquakes caused many buildings to collapse in the capital Caracas and in various towns and villages. The USGS statement said most of Venezuela’s buildings and homes had not been constructed using earthquake-resistant technology, so the death toll could reach 10,000 or more.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report