UN Needs Additional Funds of Rp5.3 Trillion to Help Victims of the Venezuelan Earthquake

JAKARTA - The head of humanitarian affairs at the United Nations on Wednesday appealed for an additional $296 million (Rp5.352.864.000.000) to help victims of the earthquake in Venezuela, warning of a funding shortfall of $627 million two weeks after two earthquakes hit the country.

Speaking at a briefing in Caracas, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said the funds were needed to reach 1.3 million people facing socio-economic needs over the next six months, as the response transitions from search and rescue to recovery and reconstruction.

Describing his visit to La Guaira, one of the worst-hit areas, Fletcher said families continued to search for missing loved ones in the ruins two weeks after the disaster.

"The mothers asked me last night: Will the help come?" he said, launching Anadolu (9/7).

He said the response plan focuses on shelter, health, water and sanitation, food security, protection, and education.

Fletcher explained that the UN and its partners had mobilized more than 50 urban search and rescue teams from more than 30 countries, along with more than 3,000 rescue workers and 200 search dogs, while the UN had disbursed 15 million US dollars from its Central Emergency Response Fund immediately after the disaster.

Two powerful earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5 shook Venezuela on June 24 in close succession.

The initial shock (foreshock) with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred at 18.04 local time (GMT-4/11:00 WIB) and was followed by a main earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 with a time interval of 39 seconds after it.