Attention has turned to the humanitarian response after at least 2,295 people are confirmed dead, and 13,000 homeless
\n Catia La Mar
\nA man has been rescued from a collapsed building eight days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela.
\nThe rescue on Thursday came as attention has begun to shift from finding survivors under the rubble to addressing the humanitarian needs of the thousands of residents displaced.
\nAn estimated 60,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in last week\u2019s earthquakes, which hit magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. An estimated 13,000 people have been left homeless.
\nIn its last official update, Venezuela\u2019s government said that at least 2,295 people have been confirmed killed, with 11,000 injured. The death toll was expected to rise, with about 50,000 people reported missing.
\nBut in a rare ray of hope, rescue workers were able to reach 43-year-old security guard Hernan Gil on Thursday, after days of trying to retrieve him from a collapsed seven-storey building where he worked in the hard-hit coastal area of Catia La Mar.
\nGil had been located three days earlier. Rescue teams from seven countries, including Venezuela, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico, worked to free him.
\n\u201cThis is truly a miracle,\u201d Gil\u2019s wife, Gusbimar Gonzalez, told the news agency AFP.
\nCristian Vera, the leader of the Chilean rescue team, told AFP that rescuers eventually were able to dig a three-metre (9.8-foot) tunnel to extract Gil. They had been able to provide him water via a hose and oxygen tube in recent days.
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy to reach the exact spot where the victim was located,\u201d he said.
\nReporting from the state of La Guaira, Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi said that, while Gil\u2019s recovery has given some families hope, countless rescue attempts across the country have ended in tragedy.
\nMany of the collapsed buildings in La Guaira, located north of Caracas, have already been marked with the letter D for \u201cdeceased\u201d, signalling no signs of life could be detected.
\n\u201cOne search-and-rescue expert we spoke to on the ground said the footprint of this disaster is so big, there are 58,000 buildings that have been destroyed or damaged, there\u2019s so much area to search, and so many days into the aftermath of this earthquake, it is less and less likely that anyone can be found alive,\u201d Basravi said.
\nHe added that the emergency response is set to \u201cmove away from rescue and recovery into a very different phase of this disaster, which will see more relief work, more humanitarian work needed on the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n
Risks of health crisis
\nHumanitarian workers have warned that the aftermath of the earthquake could lead to a health crisis, as understaffed medical centres are likely to face cases of untreated injuries and infectious disease.
\nFor years, the country\u2019s health system has been strained by shortages of critical medical equipment, highly trained staff and electrical power.
\nThe World Food Programme has appealed for $50m to feed some 500,000 people for three months. The United Nations Development Programme has put the estimated cost for the physical damage at $6.7bn, based on satellite imagery.
\nSeveral countries and regional blocs have pledged funding to help with relief efforts.
\nThat has included $300m from the US, according to the Department of State. The administration of US President Donald Trump, who abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, has continued to support the country\u2019s interim President Delcy Rodriguez despite criticism over a lack of preparedness.
\nReporting for Al Jazeera from Caracas, journalist Noris Soto said that international aid will be \u201cmore than necessary\u201d in the months and weeks ahead.
\n\u201cVenezuela has been struggling with economic hardships for the past two decades. So, if you add this disaster to that economic crisis that Venezuelans were already suffering, they will need help for years to come,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Attention has turned to the humanitarian response after at least 2,295 people are confirmed dead, and 13,000 homeless Catia La Mar A man has been rescued from a collapsed building eight days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela. The rescue on Thursday came as attention has begun to shift from finding survivors under the rubble to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-554348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n