‘Tonnes and tonnes of rubble’: more than 58,000 buildings estimated to have been destroyed in Venezuela earthquakes

M ore than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged and destroyed by the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary analysis of satellite data that suggests the scale of the destruction could dwarf official estimates. Last Wednesday’s back-to-back quakes – which measured magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 – killed at least 1,943 people, injured more than 10,571, and left tens of thousands missing amid the rubble. The UN migration agency has said that up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disasters, and would require shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief items. As hopes of finding survivors dwindle, efforts are under way to determine the true extent of the damage. On Monday, Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the National Assembly, said that 855 buildings had been damaged, including 189 “total collapses”. But initial assessment of satellite data published by US space agency Nasa raises the prospect of far more serious and widespread damage. After analysing high-resolution radar imagery gathered the day after the quakes by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites, researchers at Oregon State University have concluded that “approximately 58,870 buildings were likely damaged or destroyed across the affected region”. Magnitude of past earthquakes They added: “This is a preliminary, rapid assessment. …