39秒，两次强震：委内瑞拉大地震，为什么夺走了上千条生命？

委内瑞拉，是南美洲北部的一个国家，离我们中国很远。

Venezuela is a country in northern South America, far from China.

但这次地震，实在太严重了，整个世界都在关注。

But this earthquake was so severe that the whole world is watching.

事情发生在六月二十四号的傍晚。

It happened on the evening of June 24th.

当时很多人刚刚下班回家，正准备吃晚饭。

Many people had just gotten home from work and were about to have dinner.

就在这个时候，大地，突然剧烈地动了起来。

Just then, the earth suddenly began to shake violently.

最可怕的地方在于，这次不是一次地震，而是接连两次。

The most terrifying part is that it wasn't one quake, but two in a row.

第一次，是七点二级；仅仅三十九秒之后，第二次来了，达到了七点五级。

The first was magnitude 7.2; just thirty-nine seconds later, the second came, reaching 7.5.

两次强震叠加，让大地足足摇晃了一分多钟。

The two quakes stacked together, shaking the ground for a full minute and more.

这是委内瑞拉一百多年来，遇到过的最强的一次地震。

It is the strongest earthquake Venezuela has faced in over a hundred years.

受灾最重的，是首都加拉加斯，还有旁边的港口城市拉瓜伊拉。

Hardest hit were the capital, Caracas, and the nearby port city of La Guaira.

加拉加斯是个大城市，市中心立着很多高楼。

Caracas is a big city, its downtown full of high-rises.

强震一来，好几栋高楼，竟然像积木一样，整个塌了下去。

When the quake hit, several high-rises collapsed entirely — like toy blocks.

其中有一栋二十多层的大楼，几乎是在几秒钟内，被夷为平地。

One of them, a building of more than twenty floors, was leveled in mere seconds.

住在里面的人，根本没有逃出来的时间。

The people living inside had no time at all to escape.

到目前为止，这次地震已经造成一千四百多人遇难。

So far, the quake has killed more than 1,400 people.

还有三千多人受伤，上万人无家可归。

Over three thousand more were injured, and tens of thousands left homeless.

更揪心的是，还有数以万计的人，被埋在废墟下面，至今下落不明。

Even more wrenching, tens of thousands remain buried under the rubble, still missing.

那么，一个我们绕不开的问题是：为什么这次地震，伤亡会这么惨重？

So an unavoidable question: why were the casualties so devastating?

地震本身的强度大，当然是一个原因。

The sheer strength of the quake is, of course, one reason.

但专家指出，还有一个更让人痛心的原因，那就是房子本身。

But experts point to another, more painful reason: the buildings themselves.

当地很多建筑，盖得并不结实。

Many local buildings were simply not built solidly.

有的楼房年代久远，有的则是当年盖得太快、太赶，质量没跟上。

Some were very old; others were built too fast, in too much of a rush, with quality falling behind.

还有一种很危险的楼，底下一层很空旷，用来做车库或者店面。

There's also a dangerous kind of building with an open, hollow ground floor used as a garage or shopfront.

这种楼，一遇到强震，上面的几层就会直接压下来，整栋"叠"在一起。

When a strong quake hits such a building, the upper floors crash straight down and the whole thing 'stacks' together.

所以，真正夺走生命的，往往不是地震，而是这些不结实的房子。

So what truly takes lives is often not the quake, but these flimsy buildings.

地震发生后，时间就是生命。

After an earthquake, time is life.

被埋的人，每多等一个小时，生还的希望就少一分。

For the buried, every extra hour means a little less hope of survival.

所以，灾难发生后的头三天，也就是常说的"黄金七十二小时"，至关重要。

So the first three days after the disaster — the so-called 'golden 72 hours' — are critical.

为了抢这三天，全世界都行动了起来。

To seize these three days, the whole world sprang into action.

墨西哥、西班牙、法国、智利等很多国家，都紧急派出了救援队。

Mexico, Spain, France, Chile and many other countries urgently sent rescue teams.

他们带着搜救犬和仪器，在废墟里，一点一点地寻找还活着的人。

With search dogs and instruments, they comb the rubble bit by bit for those still alive.

说到这里，我想和你多聊一句。

Speaking of this, I want to say one more thing to you.

这样一场灾难，发生在地球另一边，看起来离我们很远。

A disaster like this, on the other side of the globe, seems far from us.

但这一次，遇难者中，也有八位中国同胞。

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

那一刻你会发现，所谓的"远方"，其实和我们紧紧相连。

In that moment you realize the so-called 'far away' is, in fact, tightly bound to us.

最后，我想留给你两个问题。

Finally, I want to leave you two questions.

第一，我们总说"天灾"，但这次的悲剧里，有多少其实是"人祸"？

First, we always say 'natural disaster' — but in this tragedy, how much was really 'man-made'?

第二，如果有一天，地震真的发生在你身边，你和你的家人，准备好了吗？

Second, if one day an earthquake really happens near you, are you and your family prepared?

这两个问题，没有标准答案，但是值得我们认真想一想。

These two questions have no standard answer, but they're worth thinking about seriously.