Venezuela quake death toll rises to 4,333; 19,000 in camps
The government is preparing apartments and more than 40 parcels in La Guaira to build homes for people who lost theirs.
Deaths from the twin earthquakes in Venezuela on June 24 rose to 4,333 as of Saturday (11/7), up from 4,118 a day earlier. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said more than 19,000 people are now living in emergency camps set up in stadiums, squares and sidewalks. The 7.5 and 7.2 magnitude quakes hit Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira, knocking down hundreds of buildings and flattening apartment blocks. The government has refused to halt the search for bodies, amid concerns from families that the rubble will soon be cleared away. Rodriguez said the government has set aside more than 40 plots totaling about 584,000 square meters in La Guaira for new housing, while Delcy Rodriguez also called on Britain to release Venezuela's gold reserves held at the Bank of England for recovery efforts.