Venezuela earthquakes caused $19.6 billion in physical damage: World Bank

Twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela last month caused $19.6 billion (80 billion Malaysian ringgit) in physical damage, according to a World Bank estimate released Thursday. The bank stressed the need to quickly increase public reconstruction financing to prevent prolonged economic impacts.

At least 5,398 people died in the June 24 earthquakes, with hundreds of buildings destroyed, particularly in the hardest-hit northern coastal state of La Guaira. At least 16,740 people were injured. The United Nations estimated that over 1 million people require immediate humanitarian aid.

The World Bank's assessment focused solely on damage to buildings and infrastructure. Direct damage to residential buildings accounted for nearly half of the total, valued at $9.3 billion (38 billion Malaysian ringgit). Non-residential buildings suffered $5 billion (20 billion Malaysian ringgit) in damage, while infrastructure sustained losses of $5.2 billion (21 billion Malaysian ringgit), with dozens of hospitals and hundreds of schools severely damaged.

An earlier preliminary damage assessment by the UN, released about a week after the earthquakes, estimated the total direct physical damage from the disaster to be much higher, at $37 billion (151 billion Malaysian ringgit).