As rescue efforts continue in Venezuela, Pope Leo has sent an “initial emergency donation” of 100,000 euros to support relief efforts.
According to the Vatican, the aid “is only a first step, with further assistance to follow in response to the needs identified by the local Church.”
Before becoming pope, Leo spent many years in nearby Peru and served as the head of the pontifical commission for Latin America.
At least 920 people have been killed and 3,360 injured following powerful back-to-back earthquakes that rocked Venezuela, officials said on Friday.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the coastal state of La Guaira, north of the capital Caracas, had been hardest hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that struck on Wednesday evening.
“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped. We are working tirelessly on this task,” Rodríguez said.
The number of fatalities is expected to climb, with rescuers continuing to pick their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings across northern Venezuela.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the death toll would most likely run into the thousands, with a substantial probability of it exceeding 10,000. A website created to track missing people listed more than 50,000 people as missing. These figures have not been confirmed by officials.
The country’s Maiquetía “Simón Bolívar” International Airport was closed due to damage, which made aid efforts more challenging.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has offered assistance from the United States. “We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” he said.
In a social media post, President Trump said the U.S. was “ready, willing and able to help.”
The effects of the devastating earthquakes are likely to be especially severe in the country, which has been wracked by financial and political crises in recent years.
