THE toll from the back-to-back earthquakes that devastated Venezuela this week climbed Friday to at least 920 dead and 3,360 injured, authorities said. The new figures were announced by Jorge Rodriguez, the President of the country’s National Assembly. She said the State of La Guaira has been hardest hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck on Wednesday evening, noting that it has been militarised as crews search for survivors and distribute food and water. The toll is likely to go higher as search-and-rescue operations continue.

 

Many families say their loved ones are still buried under the rubble. The International Organisation for Migration said that up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the quakes, some 2 million of them in Caracas alone. Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross' regional director for the Americas, said “people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes.” The injured were pulled out covered in dust and blood, among them children. Venezuelan State TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab with only a bare foot poking out before rescuers slid her out alive.