“We have decided to create immediately the Presidential Commission for the evaluation of habitability, housing, and infrastructure, so that a decision can be made in the coming hours regarding whether a home is safe to occupy,” announced this Sunday the President in Charge of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, while providing an update on the work being done to rescue people trapped in damaged structures and those buildings impacted by the powerful earthquakes of last June 24.
“We have created a traffic light system to define the condition variables of the housing, with the colors green, yellow, and red, to determine, as this Presidential Commission for habitability, housing, and infrastructure is doing and will continue to do in the coming hours, whether a housing is apt to be occupied,” she explained in an official broadcast on Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Likewise, she explained that public structures will be evaluated to determine the infrastructure related to roads, bridges, and overpasses.
The commission will be chaired by engineer Francisco Garcés and will be composed by representatives from the Ministries of Housing and Habitat, Public Works, the College of Engineers, the Engineering Corps of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), the Chamber of Construction, and the following universities: Central University of Venezuela, UEFA, University of Carabobo, Andrés Bello Catholic University, and any other university that wishes to join.
“This presidential commission is already working to verify the habitability conditions and whether people can return to their homes,” she added, while detailng that there is still considerable fear among those who wish to return to those housings that resulted damaged.
Although there may be external signs of damage, they do not necessarily indicate that there may be structural damage: “And that is the task of this presidential commission, in coordination with local and regional authorities, governors, and mayors, who will work together in the coming hours to have a definitive assessment.”