At least 22 people died and 52 are still missing As a result of the rains in the town of Tejerías, Aragua state, in the central zone of Venezuela, confirmed this Sunday the executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
The flooding of a ravine this Saturday dragged houses, urban furniture, and flooded the streets of the town, destroying everything that the water found in its path.
The Government today deployed rescue, citizen security, as well as maintenance and cleaning crewsand personnel from various institutions for “the comprehensive care of the people,” said President Nicolás Maduro through his Twitter account.
According to Rodríguez, who told the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) from the area of the event, “there was a big landslide” that caused the streams to overflow, causing “human losses” and great material damage. The vice president pointed out that, by order of President Nicolás Maduro, the town of Tejerías was decreed a “tragedy zone” and three days of mourning.
He said that the security agencies, including the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), are deployed at the site of the disaster to continue the search for the missing persons and others who remain walled up.
“We are trying to rescue those we can rescue and from now on we extend our condolences to all the people who have lost a loved one,” he added.
The official announced that “Important” shelters will be set up in the state of Aragua to transfer all those who lost their homes.
Rodríguez said that there are merchants who lost their premises, affected crops, for which he reported that the public bank will provide support to these citizens. Likewise, he pointed out that the water service is interrupted because the force of the water from the creek dragged the submersible pumps.
The flood was recorded in the Los Patos stream, located in Tejerías, Aragua state, some 52 kilometers by land from the capital Caracas, after several hours of rain.
The governor of Aragua, Karina Carpio, indicated early today that 21 sectors of the city and 15 companies were affected by the overflow of the creek.
In 2022, “historical” rainfall averages have been recorded that have caused damage in several regions, a behavior that is attributed to the La Niña phenomenon and climate change.
The number of deaths due to the heavy rainfall of the last two weeks, in various areas of the country, amounts to 42, according to national, regional and local organizations.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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