Playa Grande (Venezuela).- The Venezuelan government’s plan, supported by the UN, is to bring prefabricated homes into the country to solve the housing problem caused by the double earthquake, which has left nearly 18,000 people homeless, according to the official report.
This was stated by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, in an interview with EFE in Playa Grande, one of the areas most devastated by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24, in which he stated that housing for those affected is one of the major concerns right now.
The Venezuelan government “has plans (…) to (provide) more permanent housing, but also to bring in more prefabricated buildings,” said Fletcher, who assured that the UN system is already “raising money” for it.
“I have just held a briefing for Member States -we had 170 partners online-, where I am explaining the needs regarding housing and accommodation in this coming period and trying to obtain that international generosity that we need,” explained the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
There are at least 16,686 people housed in the 87 temporary camps set up by the Government of Venezuela, according to data provided this very Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Héctor Rodríguez.
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In search of solutions
The state most devastated by the earthquakes, La Guaira (in the north of the country), has the highest number of people sheltered in camps, with 10,469 in 26 transitional camps, six of which are in the process of expansion, according to the report as of 6:00 local time (10:00 GMT).
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Meanwhile, in the Venezuelan capital there are 5,046 people in the 39 camps set up, while in Miranda state, near Caracas, there are 22 camps with 1,171 people.
Fletcher explained that people must be “moved to some kind of longer-term accommodation. They cannot just stay in these areas” that have been destroyed because it is “dangerous to be here,” he said, adding that they must be “moved to better living conditions.”
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OCHA considers that 300 million dollars more are needed—after raising a similar amount—to reach 1.3 million people affected by the earthquake, according to a needs assessment conducted by the UN and several NGOs.
The double earthquake is the deadliest Venezuela has experienced in the last century. According to the latest official report this Tuesday, the death toll from the earthquakes rose to 3,685, while the number of injured remained at 16,740, without offering figures for the missing.
