Venezuela earthquakes: Search for survivors continues

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Becca** (0:23)
This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

**Georgie** (0:28)
In this programme, the double earthquakes in Venezuela.

**Becca** (0:35)
Hello, I'm Becca.

**Georgie** (0:36)
And I'm Georgie.

**Becca** (0:37)
In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

**Georgie** (0:44)
You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

**Becca** (0:53)
So, let's hear more about this story.

**Georgie** (1:02)
The search for survivors goes on after two earthquakes shook the grounds of Venezuela on June the 24th. The first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and the other 7.5.

**Becca** (1:14)
Yes, the earthquakes were felt within seconds of each other and caused devastation to the South American country.

**Georgie** (1:22)
1,700 people have died, and the number of dead is rising. The earthquakes caused the collapse of over 1,400 buildings.

**Becca** (1:32)
Rescue teams and volunteers from around the world flew to the worst hit areas to offer help. They are working alongside firefighters to pull survivors out of the rubble, which has bits of broken building.

**Georgie** (1:45)
There have been some incredible stories of survival. For example, a mother and her baby were saved with minor injuries, and an 11-year-old boy was also pulled from three metres of rubble with only a broken arm.

**Becca** (1:58)
Let's have our first headline. This headline is taken from DW News, a German news organisation.
Venezuela rescuers finding quake survivors against the odds.

**Georgie** (2:10)
And that headline again from DW News, Venezuela rescuers finding quake survivors against the odds.

**Becca** (2:17)
This headline talks about how some rescue attempts have been successful despite the chances of success being low. And that's what the phrase against the odds means.

**Georgie** (2:27)
Yes, against the odds is an expression that comes from gambling. The word odds is the chance of something happening. So if something is against the odds, it's highly unlikely to happen.

**Becca** (2:39)
When we express that we do something against the odds, it means that we do and hopefully achieve something despite the situation making success improbable.

**Georgie** (2:49)
You might also hear similar phrases using odds, such as against all odds, facing the odds or the odds are stacked against me.

**Becca** (2:59)
We've had against the odds, highly unlikely to happen.

**Georgie** (3:05)
For example, he was in a terrible car crash, but against the odds, he made a full recovery.

**Becca** (3:16)
This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English. We're talking about the response to the earthquakes in Venezuela.

**Georgie** (3:24)
As the death toll rises to over 1,700, hospital morgues, these are places where bodies are temporarily stored, have become full and there's no more space for dead bodies.

**Becca** (3:36)
Many private funeral homes have offered their services for free to help deal with the lack of space in the morgues.

**Georgie** (3:43)
Let's have the next headline. This one is from France 24, a French news organization. I recognized her ring, identifying Venezuela's dead in a makeshift morgue.

**Becca** (3:54)
And that headline again from France 24 I recognized her ring, identifying Venezuela's dead in a makeshift morgue.

**Georgie** (4:03)
Now this headline is about how one man recognized his daughter's body in a makeshift morgue.
In situations like natural disasters, there are a lot of emergency responses that require temporary solutions. We're looking at this word makeshift.

**Becca** (4:18)
Makeshift is an adjective that describes something that has been made because of a sudden need. The morgues are full and there is no space to keep the dead. So this father found his daughter in a truck that was being used to transport bodies.
Trucks wouldn't usually be used for this purpose. It's being used as a makeshift morgue.

**Georgie** (4:38)
So this is a very serious context to use the word makeshift, but it can also be used to describe everyday solutions, usually not of great quality because they're only temporary. For example, there was a hole in my roof, so I made a makeshift covering, but I'll need to get someone to go up and fix it properly.

**Becca** (4:57)
We've had makeshift made for a sudden need, usually bad quality and temporary.

**Georgie** (5:03)
For example, during heavy rainfall, people use sandbags as a makeshift barrier to keep floodwater out of their houses.
This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about the earthquakes in Venezuela.