Caracas, July 1 (SANA)The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 1,943, according to Venezuelan authorities.

AFP quoted Jorge Rodríguez, president ofVenezuela‘s National Assembly, as saying on Wednesday that the two earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, have also injured more than 10,500 people and displaced around 15,000. He said 6,461 people have been rescued since emergency operations began.

La Guaira state, the area hardest hit by the disaster, continues to face severe food shortages, widespread disruptions to basic services and communications outages.

TheWorld Health Organizationhas warned of the risk of disease outbreaks, while preliminary estimates indicate the disaster generated about 1.2 million tons of debris in La Guaira.

The previous official death toll stood at 1,719. Authorities also reported that 774 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including 189 that collapsed completely. Tens of thousands of people remain missing.F.J./ABD