Venezuela's twin earthquakes leave a second crisis: caring for hundreds of survivors who lost limbs
More than six thousand people are confirmed dead after Venezuela's June earthquakes, and doctors are now working to treat an estimated 100 to 200 quake amputees. Per Al Jazeera and Southshore Journal.
Venezuela's National Assembly says the confirmed death toll from the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck on June 24 has reached 6,125, with 61,000 people treated in hospitals, according to Al Jazeera. There is still no official count of quake-related amputees, but a Caracas prosthetics workshop, Ortoprotecnica, estimates at least 100 to 200 based on data from doctors. A trauma physician at Domingo Luciani Hospital said crush injuries from being trapped in rubble, in some cases accompanied by rhabdomyolysis, led to amputations in the weeks after the quakes. Prosthetics can cost up to $25,000, so three organizations, the CIREC Foundation of Colombia, the Juan Pablo Dos Santos Foundation, and the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, launched the Humanitarian Fund 77, aiming to raise $2 million for amputee care. Dos Santos, who lost both legs in a 2019 car accident, now leads outreach to survivors and estimates 300 to 400 people have registered with the fund. Sources: Al Jazeera, Southshore Journal.