Daijiworld Media Network - Caracas
Caracas, Jul 12: The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 4,333, while 16,740 people have been injured, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez.
Speaking on Saturday, Rodriguez said rescue teams had saved 6,462 people, while authorities had established 94 temporary relief camps accommodating more than 18,000 displaced residents.
He added that around 30,000 volunteers had registered to assist relief operations and that the government planned to involve them in rebuilding homes and repairing damaged properties during the recovery phase.
To support families who lost their homes, the government has launched a Unified Housing Registry, which will function as both a census of affected households and a database for providing financial assistance to earthquake victims.
Rodriguez said priority would be given to constructing permanent housing for families whose homes were destroyed and repairing houses that sustained partial damage.
The government also plans to establish temporary settlements consisting of single-family housing units to accommodate displaced residents until permanent homes are completed.
He further announced that the National Assembly would move ahead with amendments to the country's rental laws and introduce credit and subsidy programmes aimed at helping affected families purchase homes.
Addressing the issue of Venezuelan assets frozen overseas due to international sanctions, Rodriguez said acting President Delcy Rodriguez had written to several governments seeking the release of those funds to support reconstruction efforts.
Earlier, Delcy Rodriguez thanked 28 countries for providing humanitarian assistance following the disaster.
After visiting a relief distribution centre in Caracas, she said more than 2,000 tonnes of international aid had been received and was being sorted for delivery to temporary camps sheltering earthquake survivors.
She expressed gratitude to the countries that had extended support, saying the international response had reassured Venezuela that it was not facing the crisis alone.
Rodriguez added that the government's focus would now be on rebuilding affected communities and helping displaced families recover from the disaster.