00:00In Venezuela, the rescue efforts continue after back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 that affected the
00:08country.
00:08Our correspondent, Luis Alberto Matos, is now currently in La Guayra and will keep us informed about the current situation.
00:16Hello, Luis Alberto.
00:19Good afternoon, Lore. Good afternoon to our audience once more.
00:22As we were saying, rescue operations are ongoing.
00:25They have not stopped and they will continue to go as long as there is hope that there are survivors
00:30on the rubble.
00:31Now, currently, in the state of La Guayra, here in the place where I'm standing,
00:35is the most affected we have been reporting with the most buildings collapsed,
00:39over 170 buildings that have collapsed and over 100 that have been affected.
00:44Something that I have noticed as the day has progressed is a lot of traffic here in this avenue behind
00:48me
00:49with trucks carrying belongings of the people that their buildings were damaged but did not collapse.
00:55People have gone into those buildings to bring out their belongings and to be able to take them to a
01:00safe place
01:00before they are lost in case the building finally collapsed or something like that happened.
01:05So that is something I have realized that has happened in the past couple of hours,
01:09an increase in traffic in the avenues behind me, which, as the acting president has reported,
01:15from the very early, from the very first 24 hours, the roads were cleared from other bridges
01:20to ensure an easy passage of traffic, not only for the people to move around,
01:24but also for help to arrive for everything, to arrive as quickly as possible
01:29and for the rescue workers to arrive to the debris sites where they have to carry out their rescue operations.
01:35Something also that has been taking place is the continued show of solidarity and support among the people.
01:41We continue to see every five, ten minutes people walk around here and they are carrying aid,
01:48they are carrying health, food, water, soda, sweets to bring to the people that were affected.
01:53They are currently in several temporary camps right now that is housing all the people that were affected here in
01:59La Guayera,
01:59which are in the thousands, over 10,000 people have been affected here in La Guayera
02:03and are currently taking shelter, taking refuge in those temporary camps
02:07where they are receiving the accompaniment of attention from the government authorities,
02:12but also they are seeing the Venezuelan spirit of solidarity is being shown every hour,
02:17every passing hour is something truly to behold,
02:20to see how this tragedy has the power to bring the best out of people, the best out of humanity,
02:26and you can see how through goodwill, through just the shared will of love and to help each other,
02:32even to help someone that you don't know but is a fellow countryman, a countrywoman,
02:36that you want to help and provide solace in this moment of need.
02:41So that is something that we continue to see.
02:43As I was telling you, the rescue workers continue, but of course, as the days have passed,
02:47we are currently in the ninth day since the earthquake hit,
02:51finding survivors getting every minute, every hour that passes getting more difficult
02:56and the likelihood is less and less, but hope has not been lost.
03:00They continue to work.
03:01There are several spots that are still likely to have some survivors
03:04because of the place that they crashed, which they have access to food and water,
03:09so there is a likelihood that they might be alive.
03:11That's why the work continues.
03:12And while the work continues, the government authorities and the international solidarity as well
03:18have begun the process also of planning ahead for what comes after for the reconstruction.
03:24And with that, we have been reporting the implementation of an initial fund of $200 million,
03:30which will come from the IMF, funds that the IMF will unfreeze and will be granted,
03:35will be returned to Venezuela so that it is used solely for housing purposes.
03:39The acting president yesterday in a press conference also announced the creation of a bank account
03:44that is intended for international solidarity aid in terms of money,
03:47which will be fully used for housing, to rebuild all the houses that were brought down.
03:54But the acting president also announced that this process will be done carefully
03:58because especially experts from Venezuela and also experts that have come from abroad
04:03to support the Venezuelan people will be carrying out the necessary studies
04:07to determine what area is safe to build following devastating earthquakes that struck on June 24th,
04:12the 7.5 back-to-back earthquakes, which of course caused a lot of disruption here,
04:19especially in La Guayla, the most affected state.
04:21So this is the situation that is happening right now.
04:24Right now, you cannot hear, but just like half an hour ago,
04:28there were helicopters flying around Canvan City area and doing inspections.
04:31As I was telling you, the work in La Guayla is still ongoing.
04:35It has not stopped and will continue to move forward.
04:39Thank you so much, Lizzy, for always keeping us posted
04:43and informed about the current situation in La Guayla.
04:47We will keep updating the situation with more information from our correspondent, Liz Alberto.
04:53That is probably a good playOTA for everyone.
04:53We can bear��ê³
04:53and start thinking,
04:53When the shore are still alive,
04:54We can be able
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