Forty days after neighbouring Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes, the country continues to recover from a disaster that claimed thousands of lives and caused widespread devastation across its northern region.
Among the many people who lost their homes in the June 24th double earthquake are Ignacio Ruben Smith Salazar and his family.
Speaking with TTT News, he provided an update on conditions in the country 40 days after the devastating quakes destroyed buildings and infrastructure across the capital, Caracas.
“We still have people living in camps. There are two main camps in Caracas and two other camps in La Guaira, in the state of La Guaira. I, myself, am camping out in an apartment that belongs to a cousin of mine, with my parents, but the reality on the ground is that the government is working towards rebuilding the city of Caracas, the affected areas and also the state of La Guaira.”
In their reconstruction efforts, Mr Smith Salazar noted that the Venezuelan government plans to incorporate engineering and building methodologies used in Japan and other earthquake-prone countries to help strengthen infrastructure and improve resilience against future seismic events.
“It’s not poor construction or anything of the sort. It’s the type of soil that was between the anchoring of the building and the building itself. And this is what actually triggered a lot of the destruction. Having said that, the government is now moving towards increasing the seismic norm.”
He said he felt assured that the food, water, clothing and other items that have been donated are reaching those who have been most severely affected by the earthquake because KPMG, one of the big four international auditing firms, is overseeing the process.
“How the items are distributed and who really are the recipients of these items. And this is part of what was indicated in Executive Order 14373, signed by the President of the United States on January 9th. So everything that the Venezuelan government does is audited, and they’re making sure that it gets to the people that it’s supposed to get to.”
Mr Smith Salazar said that another essential component of the recovery process is prayer for the nation as it continues to rebuild and heal.