The World Bank has said that the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 caused an estimated $19.6bn in physical damage, underscoring the country's challenging path to recovery, as reported by infohub.kz.
In a statement on Thursday, the World Bank said 47 percent of the damage occurred to residential buildings, 27 percent to infrastructure and 26 percent to non-residential buildings.
Government authorities have estimated that the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes killed at least 5,000 people and injured nearly 17,000. An additional 18,000 remain homeless, as the country struggles to recover from the destruction amid persistent economic hardship.
The World Bank's vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Susana Cordeiro Guerra, said: "The earthquakes have disrupted lives, damaged critical infrastructure, and created new challenges for Venezuela's recovery. Recovering effectively begins with reliable evidence."
Even before the disaster, the World Bank estimated that 76 percent of people in Venezuela, suffering from years of economic mismanagement and crushing US sanctions, were living in poverty. "Without timely additional investment, the negative impact on productive capacity and living standards will slow the path to recovery," said Cordeiro Guerra.
The World Bank's estimate, conducted using Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE), says the areas of La Guaira state and Distrito Capital were most severely impacted. The estimate relies on local seismic data, remote-based earthquake modelling, satellite imagery, and damage reports from government and humanitarian groups.
While countries around the world have pledged support for Venezuela, it remains unclear where the funds for recovery might come from. The United States announced on Thursday that it would give more than $200 million to the Red Cross to assist people impacted by conflict and natural disasters. Those funds do not appear to be targeted specifically at Venezuela.