Venezuela quakes: UN estimates damage at $6.7b or 6% of GDP

The United Nations on Saturday estimated that the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela caused $6.7 billion in physical damage, equivalent to six percent of GDP.

The preliminary assessment is based on seismic modelling, satellite imagery and population data. It accounts for losses to assets including housing but does not cover wider economic disruption from Wednesday’s disaster, the UN Development Programme said in a statement.

UNDP said that the back-to-back quakes hit major population and economic centres near Venezuela’s northern coast, including the capital Caracas and the states of La Guaira, Carabobo, Miranda, Yaracuy and Aragua, reports AFP.

“Direct physical damage is estimated at $6.7 billion (range of $4.7 billion to $8.7 billion), driven by losses to housing and economic assets,” the statement said.

“This does not include infrastructure damage, wider economic disruption and longer-term reconstruction costs,” it said, adding that the total economic impact could be between 1.5 and three times the cost of direct damage.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the twin earthquakes rose above 1,400 on Saturday as foreign rescue teams poured into the country and authorities pressed on with the search for survivors in the hardest-hit coastal areas.

The updated toll came as rescuers fanned out across La Guaira and parts of Caracas, where families and volunteers have spent days pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble, often complaining of scant heavy equipment and a limited official presence.

Officials said more than 1,600 foreign rescuers had arrived and that additional teams were on the way, adding to a growing international response to the twin quakes that unleashed hundreds of aftershocks.

In Caraballeda, one of the worst-hit areas of La Guaira, US helicopters ferried rescue teams into a dusty landing zone, according to Reuters witnesses, dropping off crews before taking off again.

Residents said the response in some areas had been uneven, though heavy machinery was working in parts of Caraballeda and Los Corales by Saturday.

In the small Los Corales area known as Valle del Pino, Beisy Rivas, 60, said five or six homes in her neighbourhood were still standing but had been damaged.

Nearby, Yendri Santana said some homes in her 30-house development had cracks in the walls, though no one there had died. Sitting on a curb with Rivas after collecting food donations from a truck, Santana said her sister had lost her small home but survived.

Authorities continued to restrict access to La Guaira and maintained controls on the main road from Caracas, saying traffic was slowing emergency vehicles. Civilians not attached to official rescue teams needed credentials to pass checkpoints.

Power throughout the region was gradually returning. Venezuela’s power grid, crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, regularly experiences problems, leading to daily, hours-long blackouts in some regions.

Although the government has said hundreds are missing or trapped, more than 55,000 people are listed as unaccounted for on a website promoted by the country’s opposition.

The US Geological Survey estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes, which would place them among Latin America’s deadliest of the last century.

The disaster could have political consequences for interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who has portrayed herself as an agent of change even though she served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the US in January.