Category: Security and Intelligence

The 24 June Venezuela earthquakes could have resulted in around $19.6 billion (€17.2bn) worth of direct physical damage, according to the World Bank Group, Report informs via Euronews.

This significant number reveals a crucial need for the country to invest in timely and resilient reconstruction, in order for the economy to recover.

The findings were highlighted in a Global Rapid Damage Estimation (GRADE), carried out by the World Bank and published on Thursday.

The primary aim of the assessment is to provide the Venezuelan government and development partners with early insight into the scale of the rebuilding needed, and help outline the reconstruction and recovery efforts which need the most immediate attention to recover from the large-scale disaster.

The World Bank Group also carried out additional analysis of the possible macro and socio-economic implications of the earthquake, as well as what recovery could mean.

This data revealed that the pace of reconstruction will be of paramount importance in shaping how well the Venezuelan economy and society recovers.

Given the current state of public and private investment, most of the reconstruction funds would likely need to be diverted away from other less critical investment projects.

In this situation, reconstruction is expected to take over 10 years, with considerable negative effects on economic activity.