Close menu

Learning English from the News

Upper intermediate level

Venezuela earthquakes: Search for survivors continues

Episode 260701 / 01 Jul 2026

(Photo by Javier Campos/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Too hard? Try something easier. 

Too easy? Try something harder.

The story

The search for survivors continues after two earthquakes shook the ground of Venezuela on June 24th. The first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 and the other 7.5. The earthquakes have caused devastation to the South American country. 

More than 1,700 people have died and the number of dead is rising. The earthquakes have caused the collapse of 1,400 buildings. 

Many Venezuelans have expressed anger over the state's response to the natural disaster. Volunteers are racing to locate survivors who may still be trapped under the rubble of fallen buildings.

News headlines 

Venezuela rescuers finding quake survivors against the odds 
DW News 

'I recognized her ring': identifying Venezuela's dead in a makeshift morgue
France24

Angry Venezuelans accuse government of negligence over earthquake response
BBC News

Click to download a worksheet.

Key words and phrases

against the odds 
highly unlikely to happen

  • He was in a terrible car crash, but against the odds, he made a full recovery. 

makeshift
made for a sudden need, usually bad quality and temporary 

  • During heavy rainfull, people use sandbags as a makeshift barrier to keep flood water out of their houses. 

negligence
not giving enough care or attention to someone or something, usually causing harm  

  • The teacher was found guilty of negligence after some children went missing on a school trip. 

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Next

If you find learning English from the news useful, find more programmes here. 

Find all our latest programmes.

Explore different topics in English.

최신 Learning English from the News

자료 가주가기

PDF 다운로드
오디오 다운로드

팟캐스트

Learning English from the News