According to a report by the Israeli news website Ynetnews, citing Reuters, Venezuelan Vice President Rodelguerz said on July 2 local time that Venezuela immediately activated emergency systems and deployed 4,000 government personnel after the earthquake. Almost all officials in the affected region of Lago Agua were killed, and 189 buildings completely collapsed.
She said, “The search and rescue efforts are still underway. Venezuela is working with the International Monetary Fund to establish a reconstruction fund worth $200 million. Funds from this fund will be allocated to contractors for the construction of houses. These contractors will be selected and monitored during the audit process.”
On June 24th, within less than a minute, two earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher occurred in Venezuela. According to Reuters and AFP, on July 2nd local time, Rodriguez reported that the number of casualties due to the earthquakes had risen to 2,595. That morning, an unofficial but widely used online list showed that there were still about 38,600 people missing, a number that had previously reached as high as 60,000.
