Latest / DEEP INSIGHT / Venezuela's medical centers absolutely overwhelmed after twin earthquakes, aid group chief says

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Venezuela's medical centers absolutely overwhelmed after twin earthquakes, aid group chief says · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: Venezuelans are digging through the wreckage of Wednesday evenings devastating
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  Speaker 1: back to back earthquakes in a desperate search for survivors.
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  Speaker 1: The government says at least two hundred and thirty five
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  Speaker 1: people have died and more than four thousand others injured,
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  Speaker 1: and those numbers are likely to rise, and frustration is
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  Speaker 1: growing as heavy machinery needed to clear out collapse buildings
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  Speaker 1: cannot get to where it needs to be. That's leaving
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  Speaker 1: people to sift through rubble with their bare hands. The
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  Speaker 1: US pledged assistance and rescuers from around the world are
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  Speaker 1: being sent in to help. Jared Hill has been following
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  Speaker 1: developments in the aftermath of this disaster and joined US
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  Speaker 1: Now with more Jared, Good Morning. How are rescue and
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  Speaker 1: recovery efforts going aero?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it's almost overwhelming to think about how much
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  Speaker 2: work still needs to be done after these earthquakes. The
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  Speaker 2: US has pledged one hundred and fifty million dollars in
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  Speaker 2: aid to Venezuela. Their government is diverting resource teams from
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  Speaker 2: other parts of the country to the hardest hit Lowier
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  Speaker 2: all as the effort to save lives continues. In earthquake
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  Speaker 2: rattled Venezuela rescue cruise race against time to dig through
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  Speaker 2: the rubble and find any survivors, sometimes finding a glimmer
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  Speaker 2: of hope. Graciela Mora was pulled from the ruins of
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  Speaker 2: a fallen building. She said she held onto a door
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  Speaker 2: frame as the floor around her collapsed, but a friend
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  Speaker 2: who was with her didn't make it. One day after
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  Speaker 2: the devastating double earthquakes, Venezuela's acting President, Delci Rodriguez, toward
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  Speaker 2: the hardest hit area, the northern port state of Lawaira.
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  Speaker 2: Hundreds are dead. Some desperate to find missing loved ones
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  Speaker 2: have gathered outside of this hospital.
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  Speaker 3: The TV collapsed and the shelves collapse.
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  Speaker 2: Dan Baker, a British citizen living in Caracas, described the
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  Speaker 2: chaos when the tremors hit the capital city.
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  Speaker 4: The earthquake lasted what felt like a really long time.
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  Speaker 4: The local people there were were screaming for God to
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  Speaker 4: save us. When it finished, we all ran outside as quickly.
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  Speaker 2: As rescue teams have mobilized from around the world, including
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  Speaker 2: the US.
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  Speaker 3: We have an awful whole of government response. It'll be big,
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  Speaker 3: it'll be fast, and it'll be effective.
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  Speaker 2: American military officials have already landed in Caracas, and specialized
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  Speaker 2: task force teams from California and Virginia are being deployed
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 3: The ability to take our skill set and bring that
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  Speaker 3: anywhere in the world as quickly as we can.
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  Speaker 1: It's a tremendous honor.
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  Speaker 2: Volunteers in South Florida are also collecting donations to help
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  Speaker 2: with what will be no doubt along road to recovery.
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  Speaker 2: Just look at that now. The literal one two punch
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  Speaker 2: of these earthquakes comes as Venezuela has been dealing with
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  Speaker 2: economic struggles for more than a decade, raising concerns about
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  Speaker 2: how this could impact stability not only in the country
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  Speaker 2: but arow the region as a whole.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah all right, Jared, thank you. We are now joined
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  Speaker 1: by Project Hope President Chris Scopec. Project Hope is a
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  Speaker 1: global health and humanitarian organization with teams in Venezuela right
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  Speaker 1: now trying to help whoever needs it. Chris, good morning,
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  Speaker 1: give us enough. What are your teams in Venezuela telling
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  Speaker 1: you about the situation on the ground right now. I'm
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  Speaker 1: still stunned to see these concrete tal is completely flattened
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  Speaker 1: by these quakes.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, and thank you for having me. Indeed, it's
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  Speaker 3: been a tremendous tragedy, and to be sure, we spent
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  Speaker 3: the first ten hours following these two earthquakes tracking down
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  Speaker 3: all of our team members their family members, making sure
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  Speaker 3: everybody was safe. From that point on, our teams have
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  Speaker 3: been deploying into all of the most affected areas doing
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  Speaker 3: extensive assessments, specifically of the healthcare system, which is where
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  Speaker 3: we've been working within Venezuela over the last seven years.
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  Speaker 3: What we're seeing is what's to be expected. The fourteen
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  Speaker 3: healthcare centers the Project Hope supports in the affected areas
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  Speaker 3: are absolutely overwhelmed with patients. They have no electricity, many
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  Speaker 3: of them have no running water. They are desperate for
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  Speaker 3: more supplies. They are running out of the obvious things
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  Speaker 3: trauma supplies, IV fluids, bandages, pain medication, and other pharmaceuticals.
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  Speaker 3: So it really is a scary and desperate time for
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  Speaker 3: the people of Venezuela and.
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  Speaker 1: The items that you've just mentioned that these healthcare centers
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  Speaker 1: need seeing urgent and immediate. There's also issues with as
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  Speaker 1: we've mentioned already, you know, earth moving equipment that can't
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  Speaker 1: get in because of the quake. How dire is the
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  Speaker 1: I guess how are your teams trying to get those
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  Speaker 1: resources to people who need them?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the logistics is one of the most difficult issues
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  Speaker 3: in the wake of an earthquake. We have an emergency
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  Speaker 3: medical team, international team on standby to deploy, we have
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  Speaker 3: a canine rescue team on standby to deploy, and yet
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  Speaker 3: airports are badly damaged, so access into Venezuela is compromised.
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  Speaker 3: Access across the country with roads damage and other things
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  Speaker 3: also limits movement mobility and prevents access to the people
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  Speaker 3: who need it the most. We have supplies medical supplies
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  Speaker 3: in our warehouses that we are moving today in Venezuela
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  Speaker 3: to the clinics that need than the most. But we're
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  Speaker 3: going to be running out within a matter of days.
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  Speaker 3: So the ability for the international community to mobilize more
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  Speaker 3: resources get it into Venezuela to support organizations like Project
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  Speaker 3: Hope and the people of Venezuela is really critical.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Chris Scopek, We appreciate what you and your
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  Speaker 1: teams are doing. Stay in contact with us. We'll do
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  Speaker 1: what we can to make sure people can get help
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  Speaker 1: to those who need it. Thanks for your time for