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

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

Distribution of housing to those affected will begin next week, Jorge Rodríguez says

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

Rodríguez said 315 of the dead have not yet been identified.

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.

Jorge Rodríguez said interim President Delcy Rodríguez will allocate the first 200 homes to those affected next week, but did not give any more details.

He also said 856 buildings were affected, of which 190 either collapsed completely or suffered structural collapse.

600,000 children impacted by Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes

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 square metres, for housing projects in Osma and Chuspa.

Rodríguez said search operations are continuing.

"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," he said.