Rescue teams in Venezuela continue their race against time to locate survivors following Wednesday’s double earthquake (6/24), as the death toll rises with each passing hour; according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the death toll now stands at 921, with rescue teams from around the world, including Greece, rushing to the country.

More than 50,000 remain missing, according to a website where citizens report that they do not know the fate of their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the UN’s forecast regarding how many people in Venezuela will be affected by the earthquakes is grim, stating that up to 6.8 million people could see their lives change.

Zoe Brennan of the International Organization for Migration —the UN’s migration agency—told reporters that approximately 6.76 million people could be affected in the country, based on the latest available population and damage estimates.

Rescue teams from around the world

Meanwhile, rescue teams from around the world have begun arriving in the country to assist with the search efforts. At least 17 countries are rushing to Venezuela to help search for survivors, according to the UN.

Teams from Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United States were already in Venezuela, and teams from the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, Qatar, and Spain, among others.

The difficult task of rescue workers

Rescuers usually have a “golden window” lasting up to 72 hours after an earthquake to locate survivors.

During this time, emergency responders rush to free survivors before dehydration, crush injuries, and building collapses dramatically reduce the chances of survival.

The situation in hospitals is dire

Thousands of injured people are being treated under extremely adverse conditions.

As a doctor laments, decades of neglect of the country’s healthcare system have forced doctors to improvise as they treat the victims of the devastating double earthquake,warned a Venezuelan doctor.

“Venezuela’s healthcare system has gradually deteriorated,” Dr. Huniades Urbina Medina, a pediatrician and former president of the National Academy of Medicine of Venezuela, told CNNi.

He and his colleagues have been warning officials about this “decline” since Hugo Chávez’s election victory in 1998, he said.

He emphasized that the country is far below the investment levels recommended by the World Health Organization. “We don’t have the necessary resources to handle day-to-day issues,” he said.

The aftershocks will last for months

Meanwhile, Venezuelans should prepare for many more aftershocks following the two devastating earthquakes, according to a seismologist.

Stephen Hicks of University College London noted that it is “quite an unusual phenomenon” for two earthquakes of similar magnitude to occur so close together in time and space.

“We will likely experience hundreds of aftershocks that will be felt over the coming weeks or even months,” he said.

“Many of them will not be as powerful as the two major earthquakes that have occurred so far. That is the most likely scenario.”

Source: cnn.gr