Rescue efforts continue this Wednesday, July 1, against the clock in Venezuela, after one week of double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which has left at least two thousand dead and 10,571 injured, according to Government figures, which has not updated the number of missing people.
Thousands of civilians have formed aid networks, which include the creation of digital pages with the names of survivors or deceased, and have set up collection centers to receive donations and transport them to those in need, especially in the state of La Guaira (north, close to Caracas), the most devastated by the earthquakes, where the damage is difficult to quantify.
Regarding Guatemala’s aid to Venezuela, Free press and Guatevisión News This Wednesday they interviewed Claudine Ogaldes, secretary of the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), who detailed what has happened and how the process is progressing.
Ogaldes indicated that, from the first moment the emergency occurred, he informed the President of the Republic that the equipment was available. They then registered on a digital platform to offer help.
He added that on the website there are 135 groups that are already registered on the waiting list.
«It is not easy because you have to have that self-sufficiency. In addition, you must comply with the rules of the game. In other words, OCHA—United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs—has a system where you register your capacity and then, as the emergency passes, they give you the starting signal,” he explained.
He added: “There also has to be a counterpart in the Venezuelan country and Venezuela answered us late that it did appreciate the support, but that it was going to send us a list of humanitarian aid which was what it required, but that it did not want the search and rescue team because there were already many in the country.”
He said that Guatemala remains on the waiting list to be told when the teams can travel.
He reiterated that they would not go with the search and rescue team because Venezuela was already categorical in saying that more teams were not necessary and that, in the end, they could help, for example, in the handling of corpses, planning and supporting the other search and rescue brigades.
Ogaldes stated that Conred has funds to help, but there is no section or budget line that authorizes renting a plane to transport the aid, since it is a very high cost and they would have to ask Congress for a law that allows them to be exempt from the Guatecompras Law.
To read more: Tragedy in Venezuela: TikTok and Starlink help locate survivors after the earthquakes
So far, the Government of Venezuela has confirmed that 6,461 people have been rescued and that 855 buildings were damaged, of which 189 completely collapsed, as reported by EFE.
Guatemala obtains recertification
In another matter, Conred reported that, after Guatemala failed to pass international urban search and rescue evaluations in 2022 due to lack of equipment and technical observations, in 2026 the country obtained INSARAG recertification and reaccreditation of the USAR-GUA 11 group, endorsements that will be valid for 10 years.
At least 100 lifeguards and firefighters are trained and certified. They are divided into two teams, although now they are looking to have at least eight more.
Conred reported that the delivery of the recognitions was carried out during an activity organized by the Conred System and marked the closing of a technical evaluation process on the country’s response capabilities in the face of large-scale emergencies, particularly those related to collapsed structures.
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