| | Words in the News |
INTRO | | On Monday 25th January an earthquake struck central Colombia. The cities of Pereira and Armenia were serverely damaged. Quill Lawrence and James Reynolds reported. |
IN FULL | |  | Listen to the report in full |
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28th January 1999
Earthquake in central Colombia
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| NEWS 1 | | The full extent of the damage is still unknown but heavy casualties are counted in the cities of Armenia and Pereira, the heart of Colombia’s coffee-growing region. Many outlying towns within the quake’s one-hundred and fifty kilometre span have yet to be assessed. Authorities plan to demolish many buildings left weakened by the quake which are threatening to fall. In Armenia, hundreds were crushed to death under fallen buildings. The slums in the south of the city were hardest hit, where homes made of weak ceramic brick crumbled, leaving entire neighbourhoods flattened. (Quill Lawrence) |
WORDS | | the full extent of : this is a set phrase in English. The extent of a situation or difficulty is its size or scale. heavy casualties: notice that we often use the adjective 'heavy' to describe a large number of casualties the heart of : the heart of somewhere is the most central part of it coffee-growing: compound words like this are a typical feature of news reports because they convey a lot of information in a concise style of writing demolish: to destroy. Notice that we use the verb 'demolish' to describe the destruction of old or dangerous buildings |
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| NEWS 2 | | The region’s medical emergency has now eased. Many of those injured in the earthquake have been sent to hospitals in neighbouring areas. For the moment, the Colombian armed forces are to continue their airlift of supplies to the region. Aid workers have asked for more food, clothes and medicine, and say they are in desperate need of safe drinking water. Communication is now slowly being re-established across the region. Roads have been re-opened, electricity and telephone lines have been restored to many areas. (James Reynolds) |
| WORDS | | have been sent to hospitals: notice we often use the construction 'to be sent to hospital' meaning to be taken to hospital Aid workers: this is a general term often used in news stories to refer to people who administer aid of all kinds safe drinking water: notice we describe water which causes harm and should not be drunk as 'unsafe' |
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| | | Read about earthquakes in BBC News Online |
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