In a race against time, the United States military mobilized swiftly to reopen a key port in Venezuela on Tuesday. This move aims to expedite the delivery of much-needed aid as the death toll from last week’s devastating twin earthquakes rose to over 1,700, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for.
Five days after the powerful consecutive tremors flattened entire neighborhoods of multi-story buildings in La Guaira, a coastal state, the chances of finding more survivors are diminishing.
A temporary morgue has been established in a port warehouse in La Guaira, housing hundreds of bodies in white and black body bags and coffins, awaiting identification, as reported by a correspondent from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Outside, dozens of anxious relatives gathered, longing for updates about their loved ones, while forensic teams in blue uniforms meticulously examined the remains.
“There were 11 people in my household; only two of us survived because we were at work,” Wilker Molalla shared with AFP.
“My family is there — I’m told my sister and her children are there, as well as the children of my brother.”
Meanwhile, US Marines were working to repair the quake-hit port to allow the delivery of supplies and equipment, a US administration official told journalists in Washington.
US Air Force personnel were already helping to restore traffic at Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, which was also damaged in one of the worst quake disasters in Latin American history.
The airport has already partially reopened to cargo and aid flights.
US helicopters have been ferrying in aid, and US Marines have used a landing craft to deliver supplies from the USS Fort Lauderdale, an amphibious transport dock ship docked at La Guaira.
The chances of finding anyone alive beneath metres-deep rubble have dwindled since the critical 72-hour window passed.
But a WhatsApp message ignited hopes of a miraculous find beneath the rubble, more than 120 hours after the disaster.
A woman wrote to the caretaker of a collapsed apartment building in Caraballeda, one of the worst-hit areas, about 40km from Caracas, to say she was still alive, volunteer rescuer Daniel Pino told AFP.
Also on Monday, a 21-year-old identified as Aaron Levi was rescued in the nearby town of Tanaguarena, according to a video released by a photographer who witnessed the complex operation to extract him.
US doubles aid
Venezuelans are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as the sluggish response of their US-backed government to the disaster.
Some 3,150 people were injured in Thursday’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes, which were also felt in neighbouring Colombia. They were Venezuela’s worst earthquakes in more than a century.
A strong aftershock on Monday shortly after 7am local time (9pm AEST) was measured by the US Geological Survey at magnitude 4.6, adding to fears for the safety of hundreds of buildings weakened by the tremors.
Twenty-four nations have sent 521 tons of supplies, including 86 units with dogs trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble and more than 2,700 search-and-rescue personnel, according to interim president Delcy Rodríguez.
The US, the main power broker in Venezuela since January when it overthrew longtime president Nicolás Maduro, on Monday doubled its previous aid pledge from US$150 million ($217 million) to US$300 million ($435 million).
The few rescues have offered a glimmer of hope in a tragedy that has shaken a country mired in an economic crisis that has depleted its capacity to respond to disasters.
Some 774 buildings were badly damaged in the quakes, including 189 buildings that have totally collapsed, Venezuelan national assembly president Jorge Rodriguez said on Sunday.
Luis Salas, 27, who joined the rescue efforts, told AFP that “the hardest part was when we felt hope in the tunnels we went into — crawling, clearing debris, working with all our heart, with great faith — and when we reached our targets, we found them lifeless.”
‘Put down your weapon’
Even as rescue efforts continued, public anger has mounted in some areas.
Eduardo Cardozo, a volunteer in Tucacas, said it was “frustrating” to know that some victims could have been saved “if they’d been searched for in time”.
On Sunday, a group of residents ordered a group of soldiers to pick up picks and shovels and join in the rescue efforts.
“The country needs you. Put down your weapon,” one man ordered them.
Outbreaks of looting have hit La Guaira city, much of which now lies in rubble.
Pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses were ransacked, said residents, some of whom complained of the slow and meagre post-quake aid coming from authorities.
Rodriguez has said temporary camps were being set up for people who had lost their homes.
The UN migration agency said that based on population and damage data, up to 6.76 million people could be affected, and would require shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief items.