Hope fades, hunger sets in a week after Venezuela earthquakes

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela - Hope of finding more survivors faded Wednesday as Venezuela marked a week since twin earthquakes killed almost 2,300 people, while many who lived through the disaster were running desperately short on food.

As the death toll mounted, Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning, saying the country's "soul is torn apart by the human losses."

Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for.

The majority of collapsed buildings in the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, have been marked with the letter 'D' for 'deceased' -- a sign they had been searched and showed no signs of life.

"Time isn't wasted in a place where there is no expectation of recovering people alive," said Javier Rodes, the coordinator of a Spanish rescue team whose sniffer dog Nala searched in vain through the rubble for traces of life.

There have been miracle survivors, such as a three-year-old boy found alive Tuesday, six days after Venezuela's most powerful quake in over a century.

But experts say trapped victims are unlikely to survive more than 72 hours after an earthquake.

Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that deaths had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,000 people were injured.

He said almost 13,000 people had been left homeless.

The United Nations estimates 50,000 people are missing.

A fight for food

Two powerful quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, shattered entire neighborhoods in oil-rich Venezuela, which has suffered decades of economic crisis that had devastated infrastructure and health services.

The country is in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

International rescue teams arrived from around the globe to dig out survivors, while locals are furious at the absence of the state in the aftermath of the disaster.

With daily life in ruins, the focus is now shifting to survival. Many are homeless and food and water are becoming hard to find.

"They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food... It's like a cockfight," Daniela Armas, 18, a vendor in La Guaira, said after waiting to get food at an emergency shelter.

There has been widespread theft and looting and on Wednesday four police officers were arrested after being caught by residents stealing valuables from the rubble, according to the justice ministry.

"The situation is quite critical," said Lia Poggio, head of mission in Venezuela for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Queues for aid are growing longer by the day, with many surviving on the goodwill of volunteers and donations from fellow citizens.

"I feel guilty about eating, because every time I eat I think there's someone who has nothing to eat," said Aysmar Lopez, a young woman bringing home-cooked meals to several shelters.

The World Food Programme on Tuesday appealed for $50 million to feed some 500,000 people for three months in Venezuela.

Risk of disease

Fears of disease outbreaks were also rising.

World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said health services in Venezuela were under "extreme pressure."

"There's an increased risk now of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases" such as measles and diphtheria, due to low pre-earthquake vaccination coverage, he said.

The UN refugee agency said it needed $14.9 million to scale up aid and temporary shelter for 30,000 people over six months.

The quakes likely damaged or destroyed 58,870 buildings, according to a preliminary assessment of satellite data published by NASA.

At one La Guaira building already marked with a 'D' as showing no signs of life, Helen Guedez and her brother searched tirelessly through the rubble of a once-luxury building with sea views.

She still held out hope of finding her father, sister, and grandmother alive, but knew chances were slim.

"We are going to keep searching because we would like to recover our relatives' bodies and give them a dignified burial," she said. — Agence France-Presse