Good Morning Britain hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh issued an urgent plea live on air following the catastrophic earthquakes in Venezuela. The death toll from the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors has reached 1,943, with over 10,000 injured and tens of thousands unaccounted for.
Earthquake devastation in Venezuela
According to preliminary NASA satellite data analysis, an estimated 58,870 buildings have been damaged or destroyed. The UK's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched an appeal to raise funds for those affected. Ed Balls stated: "Today, the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee, which coordinates all the individual charities, are launching an urgent appeal to raise funds to reach those affected."
Jonathan Swain reported on the ground, saying: "The two earthquakes flattened buildings and devastated infrastructure. According to the UN, there are widespread food shortages in La Guaira, near the capital Caracas. Two million people are in urgent need of help. A third of those are children. Basic services like power, water and shelter are all severely limited."
Rescue efforts and missing persons
Rescue efforts continue, with a moment of hope when a three-year-old boy was rescued alive from rubble after six days. Jonathan added: "There are still around 50,000 people who are missing... Rescue workers from around the world and the UK have all scrambled to the country, doing an absolutely remarkable job there under very difficult circumstances."
DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed explained: "We've seen on that video footage just the sheer devastation that the earthquake has caused, and what's really worrying is some 40,000 or 50,000 people are still missing. People potentially still stuck under the rubble. Time's already running out for many of those, but our focus now is about helping the survivors. Two million people in the worst affected areas have been impacted, so this appeal today has been launched in order to get aid to those people as quick as possible."
Viewer reactions
Viewers expressed devastation on social media. One user posted: "A 3-year-old boy is buried under the rubble for 6 DAYS in Venezuela, no parents, no water, no food around him. Imagine how absolutely terrified that boy will feel. It puts life into perspective." Another added: "We have some heat in summer here and the climate nuts go bonkers. Just thank your good fortune we do not get earthquakes here in the UK like they have just had in Venezuela." A third said: "So sad what's happened in Venezuela."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am. More information can be found on the Disasters Emergency Committee website.
