Venezuela earthquake kills over 2,000; interim president denies slow rescue response

(CNA Caracas/Catia La Mar/La Guaira, July 2nd, Combined News Service) Northern coastal Venezuela was devastated by a series of twin earthquakes last week, killing over 2,000 people. Facing widespread criticism of the official rescue efforts in recent days, interim President Delcy Rodriguez strongly denied on Sunday that the government's response was too slow.

According to Reuters, Rodriguez, who came to power after the U.S. overthrew former President Nicolas Maduro, stated at her first press conference since taking office in January: "Although we knew that earthquakes could occur in the country, the scale of this natural disaster was beyond our expectations. We did not wait for a day, two days, or three days. We took immediate action."

Rodriguez said her government issued an emergency decree within hours of the earthquake, activating civil defense and emergency response mechanisms. The series of earthquakes occurred on June 24th, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, less than a minute apart.

She also stated that in La Guaira state, the most severely affected coastal state, almost all local officials perished when buildings collapsed into rubble.

She said the death toll has risen to 2,595, and indicated that the government has not yet concluded search and rescue operations. "We can still find survivors," she said at the press conference, which was packed with dozens of international media.

Rodriguez did not disclose the number of people still missing. As of Sunday evening, in an unofficial but widely used online list, the number of missing persons had fallen to about 38,500, down from nearly 60,000 in the first few days after the earthquake.

State television frequently broadcast footage of Rodriguez meeting with military and security officials, while soldiers and police patrolled major roads in La Guaira state, sometimes directing traffic.

However, the response to this natural disaster has been primarily led by civilians, many of whom are volunteers.

Days after the disaster, earthquake victims were still using their bare hands or shovels and pickaxes to try to dig out buried loved ones. Firefighters, civil defense teams, thousands of members of foreign rescue teams, intern doctors, nurses, ordinary citizens who are normally teachers and veterinarians, and occasional soldiers were also assisting at the scene.

In a large public housing project in La Guaira state, six buildings collapsed in the earthquake. Soldiers who had been assisting the public at the scene for days told Reuters that they came to help voluntarily. Many rescuers condemned the lack of heavy machinery at the scene to move the massive concrete blocks. (Compiled by: Chang Hsiao-wen) 1150703

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