The German government is responding to the severe earthquakes in Venezuela with rapid humanitarian aid. According to the Foreign Office and the Defense Ministry, following a coordinating meeting of the crisis task force, water filters, camp beds, tents, and generators are ready. The individual ministries are also holding talks with civilian aid and disaster relief organizations.
Advance teams from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and other organizations are to travel to the region together with helpers from Switzerland to assess the situation. The air force is preparing six A400M transport aircraft for deployment in Wunstorf, Lower Saxony. One aircraft can be used for medical patient transport. Each A400M can carry up to 16 tons of material and personnel. The unit is to serve as a logistics hub for the German Red Cross (DRK) and the THW.
Venezuela submitted an international request for assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in the afternoon. The two earthquakes, with magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, occurred on Wednesday evening local time in the northwest of the country. At least 164 people died and 971 were injured. The government in Caracas declared a state of emergency.
Source: www.zeit.de
