The disaster in Venezuela: "The death toll and damages are much greater than believed"

In Venezuela, they are beginning to understand the dimensions of the disaster that struck them, after two powerful earthquakes, occurring one after the other, left enormous destruction in the capital. "It was a holiday, meaning most families were together at home, and many were watching the World Cup matches. That made the blow even harder and more devastating."

Earthquakes of great magnitude shook Venezuela and caused widespread destruction in Caracas, the capital, and elsewhere. According to the United States Geological Survey, the first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2, and approximately 10 minutes later another of magnitude 7.5 occurred. Reports indicate that the US institute initially estimated the death toll could reach tens of thousands, but Venezuelan authorities have not yet released official estimates on the number of dead and missing, as rescue and search operations continue unabated.

Eduardo Bittar, right-wing leader and coordinator of the opposition movement "Rumbo Libertad" in Venezuela, recounts the consequences of the severe disaster in a conversation with mako: "My family members called me in despair; I began to receive video after video of the dead and great destruction, until my phone collapsed from the avalanche of messages."

Regarding the rescue efforts, Bittar strongly criticizes the government's performance: "What I hear all the time is the desperate cry for help from our people. Ordinary citizens are doing the work that a State properly prepared for disasters should be able to carry out. Neighbors try to save other neighbors with bare hands, because the necessary equipment simply does not exist. Rescue teams, firefighters, and volunteers show extraordinary courage, but they lack the tools, machines, and technology necessary to face a disaster of this magnitude. Venezuela lacks modern heavy machinery to remove huge amounts of rubble, nor does it have technology for the rapid location of survivors or the rescue of victims trapped under collapsed buildings."

He continued: "I still do not know the exact number of victims; any figure reported today in the media could become irrelevant in a matter of hours. What I can say is that the human and material damages are much greater than what part of the world sees and believes right now."

Minister Gideon Sa'ar recently announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is immediately preparing for the possibility of sending an Israeli aid mission to Venezuela, and that the ministry is conducting a situation assessment with relevant parties and examining options. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) also announced that, following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela and amid fears of thousands dead, they are preparing to provide immediate aid worth hundreds of thousands of shekels to the Jewish community and 500 families displaced from their homes.