39秒里的两次大地震：委内瑞拉，为什么伤亡这么大？

Today we'll talk about a deeply saddening event.

Just this month, a big earthquake struck a country.

That country is Venezuela — far from China, on the other side of the globe.

It was evening; many people had just gotten home.

No one expected a great earthquake to come.

And it came not once, but twice.

The first quake was big; about forty seconds later, the second was even bigger.

Together, the ground kept shaking for over a minute.

An earthquake this big and this long, buildings can hardly withstand.

Hardest hit were the capital and the nearby coastal city.

The capital is a big city called Caracas.

It has many tall, large buildings.

When the quake hit, some high-rises collapsed in an instant.

One building had more than twenty floors.

After the quake, the whole building was gone.

The people inside had no time at all to escape.

So far, this earthquake has killed more than a thousand people.

Several thousand more were injured.

Even more heartbreaking: many, many people are buried below and still cannot be found.

So, a question arises.

Why did this earthquake kill so many people?

Experts say the quake's size is one reason.

But there's another reason, even sadder.

It's that many buildings there were simply not built sturdily.

Some were very old; some were built too fast and poorly.

So when the big quake hit, they couldn't hold.

After an earthquake, the most important thing is saving people.

Because for those buried below, the more time passes, the smaller the chance of survival.

So the first three days are especially, especially important.

These three days are often called the 'golden 72 hours'.

To make the most of them, many countries around the world came to help.

They sent rescue teams, brought machines and dogs, and searched together for those still alive.

At this point, I'd like to talk with you.

This happened in a faraway place.

It seems we're just watching distant news.

But this time, among the dead were eight Chinese people.

You see, the world's events are often not so far away.

Finally I want to ask you a question.

Earthquakes, fires — these we rarely think about day to day.

But if one day it really comes, would you know what to do?