Window Narrowing to Find Survivors as Quake Death Toll Surpasses 1,400
The New York Times reports:
The death toll rose to 1,430 people, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly. Speaking in a televised address, he said that more than 3,200 people had been injured and more than 3,000 left homeless by the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes.
Many more people are believed to be missing, and hundreds of rescue workers from around the world were joining in the search for them. But they are landing in damaged airports, traveling down congested, splintered roads and finding little help from Venezuela’s hollowed-out emergency services.
That led to chaotic scenes as Venezuelan citizens hurried to help each other and the authorities, facing criticism that they have not done enough, tried to establish control. More than 14,000 police and military officers were patrolling La Guaira, the northern state hardest hit by the earthquakes, to guarantee the security of relief efforts, President Delcy Rodríguez said early Saturday on state television.
PHOTO: World Central Kitchen Venezuela Earthquake CC: 4.0