After powerful earthquakes earlier this week, approximately 1,000 rescuers from 16 countries have been deployed to Venezuela.
According to Jens Lerke, a representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, search and rescue teams from Italy, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, the US, Chile, and Switzerland have already arrived. Teams from the UK, Germany, Jordan, Spain, Qatar, the Netherlands, France, Czech Republic, and Ecuador are expected in the coming days.
The UN has allocated $15 million from its emergency response fund to aid Venezuela. At least 589 people have died and 2,980 have been injured in the earthquakes. The state of La Guaira is the hardest hit and has been declared a disaster zone. Search operations and damage assessments continue.
