Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 6,438 as Rains Destroy Tent Shelters, Only 335 of 4,000 Promised Homes Built

National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced on August 17 that the confirmed death toll from the June 24 twin earthquakes had reached 6,438, up from 6,301 the previous week. Nearly two months after the disaster, authorities said roughly 60,000 homes had been affected in some way and 24,000 rendered uninhabitable, with at least 190 buildings destroyed outright, but only 335 of the 4,000 replacement homes the government had promised by year-end had actually been delivered. Survivors continued living in precarious temporary camps, and recent heavy rains destroyed several emergency tent shelters in Caracas, compounding the recovery crisis two months into the reconstruction effort.