A month after the earthquakes that devastated the Central Coast, Cardinal Baltazar Porras toured ground zero in La Guaira this Fridaywhere he spoke with survivors, relatives of victims, volunteers and international rescuers who continue their work in the entity.
“I have seen pain, yes, but above all I have found an unbreakable dignity, a living faith and a brotherhood that moves,” the representative of the Catholic Church expressed through his social networks during the tour.
Porras blessed the altars installed in the area to pray for the thousands of deceased and asked the population to “maintain hope by helping those who need it.”
“Being here, walking through its streets and looking into the eyes of our people fills my soul with deep respect and admiration. In each shared hug and in each testimony of improvement, the presence of God is felt comforting his people,” held.
Likewise, he stressed that “reconstruction is not just about bricks and concrete; it is, above all, about the spirit.”
“La Guaira is not alone: the entire Church embraces you, walks with you and continues to join efforts to accompany the most affected families. Let us continue united in prayer and solidarity action. May Our Lady of Coromoto always bless and protect our beloved people of Guaira”he concluded.
One month after the earthquakes
The visit coincided with a month of uncertainty about the real number of victims. Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, has centralized the daily balances since June 25 and reported On Wednesday night 5,398 deaths nationwide, although the government has not released figures broken down by city or state.
La Guaira, the hardest hit entity, has so far recorded at least 4,387 deathsaccording to its governor, José Alejandro Terán, who acknowledged that the search work in the rubble continues.
Greater Caracas registers the second highest number of victims: 69 deaths in the Libertador municipality – 45 of them in the San Bernardino parish -, 68 in Chacao after the collapse of three residential buildings, and three in Baruta.
Aragua (18), Carabobo (19) and Falcón (12) add another 39 deathsconcentrated in buildings that collapsed in different municipalities of these entities.
The national government itself stated that in recent weeks, A total of 856 buildings were registered that were affected, of which 190 collapsed.
Furthermore, a month after the double earthquake, there is still no official number of missing persons. However, the United Nations estimated that more than 50,000 people were unaccounted for after the devastating earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 that shook northern Venezuela on June 24.
