Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Tops 920 as U.S. Rescuers Race Against Time

Three days after the powerful quakes struck Venezuela, officials say the death toll has risen to at least 920, while more than 3,300 people have been injured and tens of thousands remain unaccounted for.

Search-and-rescue operations have been underway since the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes hit the country’s northern coastline on Wednesday. Authorities say 243 people have been rescued so far.

U.S. search-and-rescue teams from Virginia, California and Florida were sent to Venezuela on Friday, adding personnel and equipment to the urgent effort to reach victims trapped in collapsed structures.

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Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told The New York Times that fire units from Los Angeles County and Fairfax County, Virginia, are the only U.S. teams trained for overseas disaster response missions.

The Los Angeles County contingent includes 73 members and arrived with concrete-breaking tools, listening devices designed to detect people beneath rubble and a range of other equipment to support the continuing humanitarian response.

The State Department is leading the federal response to the earthquakes, according to U.S. Southern Command.

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“Day or night, the [Department of War] is moving critical life-saving equipment to Venezuela,” U.S. Southern Command said in a Friday night post. The post included several pictures of a heavy construction vehicle hauling large boxes of supplies.

Even with all the assistance coming from the United States — which has pledged $150 million to emergency aid — and international organizations, Venezuelans have reported that their government has not had a robust response to the earthquakes.

Locals told The Associated Press that they’ve seen few state rescue teams in the hardest-hit areas. According to aid agencies, the first 48 to 72 hours is the most crucial window to retrieve people alive.

On Friday night, Venezuelan authorities said they would begin blocking access to La Guaira — where the worst destruction occurred — so search teams can operate without getting hampered by citizens.

According to the AP, officials said anyone who wants to enter now will have to get permits, though they did not explain who would be eligible for one.

This move from the state comes after locals have been taking the search for their missing loved ones into their own hands.

Nazareth Jimenez, who lives in the state of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, said she had to watch as her neighbors used hammers and power tools to try to cut through the concrete of an apartment building.

She stood by and waited to see if her siblings, nephews, nieces and friends would emerge alive.

“We’re making a call for help to the government and countries across the world,” Jimenez told the AP. “There are still people alive in there.”

The Venezuelan government, led by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, has distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira, but residents still say it has not been enough.

The earthquakes pose a great challenge to Rodriguez, the former vice president whose governing coalition took shape after the United States mounted an operation that captured and deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Rodriguez’s leadership will be tested during this crisis, as well as the legitimacy of her government, given that she was not elected to the presidency and has not given any timetable on when elections will be held.