The Luso-Venezuelan Center of Catia La Mar, which hosted Portuguese rescue teams following the double earthquake on June 24, has been notified that part of its structure will have to be demolished, a member of the center’s leadership told Lusa.
“Government engineers came here and notified us that the building was severely compromised, including all seven beams on both the lower and upper floors, which will have to be demolished,” said Marta de Jesus.
She explained that the building has two floors and covers approximately 4,300 square feet. Located on the left side of the club, the ground floor houses a small café where members gathered for recreation and to play dominoes and cards. “The upper floor housed the Portuguese-language classrooms, which are deteriorated,” she said.
Marta de Jesus appealed to the Portuguese authorities and the local Lusophone community to “provide financial support to rebuild the club,” warning that once the structure is demolished, the center will not have “sufficient resources” to rebuild it.
Read more: Colombia and Venezuela: Two similar earthquakes, two very different outcomes
She added that the Portuguese rescue teams that remained in Venezuela for more than 20 days had seen the condition of the club firsthand.
“It is a symbolic club for the community. During the 1999 floods, we became a shelter and support center for many people in our community who lost their homes,” she said.
The double earthquake on August 24 caused severe damage to infrastructure, injuries and deaths across seven Venezuelan states – Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Lara, Yaracuy and La Guaira, the hardest-hit area.
According to the latest tally released by the authorities, 6,438 people died and 86,358 were treated in hospitals following the earthquakes. At least 138 of those killed were Portuguese citizens or people of Portuguese descent.
A total of 59,109 homes were inspected. Of these, 34,680 were deemed habitable, 13,733 were subject to restrictions and 10,696 were classified as “high risk.” Authorities have already removed 528,222 tons of debris.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck around 125 miles from Caracas less than a minute apart and were followed by hundreds of aftershocks, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Several countries, including Portugal and other European Union member states, sent search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela. The World Bank estimated the material damage caused by the earthquakes at $19.6 billion (€16.9 billion).
