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‘Tonnes of rubble’: 58,000 buildings estimated destroyed in Venezuela earthquakes
A Venezuelan flag is seen painted on a damaged wall amid the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state. Photograph: Maryorin Mendez/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A Venezuelan flag is seen painted on a damaged wall amid the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquakes in Caraballeda, La Guaira state. Photograph: Maryorin Mendez/AFP/Getty Images ‘Tonnes of rubble’: 58,000 buildings estimated destroyed in Venezuela earthquakes Preliminary analysis of satellite data suggests magnitude of natural disaster could dwarf official estimates M ore than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged and destroyed by the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary analysis of satellite data that suggests the scale of the destruction could dwarf official estimates. Last Wednesday’s back-to-back quakes – which measured magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 – killed at least 1,943 people, injured more than 10,571, and left tens of thousands missing amid the rubble. The UN migration agency has said that up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disasters, and would require shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief items. As hopes of finding survivors dwindle, efforts are under way to determine the true extent of the damage. On Monday, Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the National Assembly, said that 855 buildings had been damaged, including 189 “total collapses”. But initial assessment of satellite data published by US space agency Nasa raises the prospect of far more serious and widespread damage. After analysing high-resolution radar imagery gathered the day after the quakes by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites, researchers at Oregon State University have concluded that “approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region”. Magnitude of past earthquakes They added: “This is a preliminary, rapid assessment. It reflects abrupt surface change consistent with damage.” Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has sounded the alarm over potential disease outbreaks as Venezuela’s stressed and damaged health facilities struggle to cope with the aftermath of the quakes. “The health services are under extreme pressure now, with facilities operating beyond the capacity,” spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a press conference in Geneva. He added that there was “an increased risk” of outbreaks of measles and diphtheria due to low levels of pre-quake vaccination, as well as of yellow fever, malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika. The WHO said its preliminary findings had found gaps in obstetric care in the hard-hit port city of La Guaira because maternity care workers were still missing after the quakes. It also noted “chaotic service delivery and patient flow, marked by overcrowding [and] growing surgical backlogs”, and said there were problems adequately registering casualties and tracking missing people. View image in fullscreen
