The death toll from the earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to at least 1,430 people, the President of the country’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said on Saturday.
CNN reports that Rodríguez also disclosed that at least 3,238 people have been injured, and 3,142 families have lost their homes.
The lawmaker added that the country had experienced at least 430 aftershocks in the wake of the two main earthquakes.
The twin, magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, hit the South American country on Wednesday, devastating the coastal area around La Guaira.
With a scarcity of government rescue teams, Venezuelans have become desperate in the hardest-hit areas, digging through rubble with their hands, while aid agencies warned that the critical 72-hour survival window was closing fast.
CNN further reports that a senior official in the administration of President Donald Trump said there are “great communications right now with the interim authorities” in Venezuela on both the political and military side in the wake of the devastating earthquakes.
