The UN humanitarian officer today launched an international call to raise $296 million (about 252 million) to support 1.3 million people affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela.
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by
Lusa
O UN emergency aid coordinator Tom Fletcher made the call during a video conference with the Member States of the organization from Venezuela.
Fletcher said that this new funding complements the humanitarian plan announced earlier in the year for Venezuela, where almost eight million people needed assistance before the disaster.
The two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 caused one of the greatest natural tragedies in recent history in Latin America, causing more than 3,500 deaths, thousands of wounded and an undetermined number of missing persons, according to Venezuelan authorities.
The La Guaira region, linked to Caracas by a highway of about 30 kilometres, was the most affected, recording the destruction of residential neighborhoods, serious damage to strategic infrastructure, including the main international airport and the local port, and thousands of displaced persons.
Since the disaster, search and rescue operations continue in several areas of the country, while Venezuelan authorities, with the support of international teams, seek to restore essential services and accelerate the distribution of humanitarian aid to the affected populations.