A powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has killed at least 3,000 people in Pakistan and India. The violent and devastating quake struck with such force that it reduced whole villages to rubble, triggered deadly landslides and flattened a steel-reinforced-concrete apartment building. Large swathes of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered the full force and intensity of the trembler and areas as far afield as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka also reported being rocked. A Pakistani army spokesman called the devastation a “national tragedy”. Officials are warning the death toll will climb dramatically as searches frantically continue over the coming days and outlying areas report their casualty figures.

Thousands of mud huts and cheaply built houses and buildings simply crumbled in the magnitude 7.6 quake. Many buildings were not constructed to high earthquake standards and specifications and had little chance of surviving intact. One apartment block that was almost completely obliterated was the upmarket Margala Towers in Islamabad. Television news footage shows it to be a concertinaed heap of stone and steel after the 75-apartment complex collapsed like a deck of cards. Hordes of frantic rescuers are currently conducting the painstaking search for survivors as they strip away the concrete and twisted metal with their bare hands. Scores of dead bodies as well as those that survived are being pulled out. A local official predicted there would be “massive casualties”.

WARM-UPS

1. DISASTERS: This year has seen disaster after disaster, almost on a weekly basis. Brainstorm the natural disasters that have happened this year and talk about what you remember of the news. Have you or anyone you know suffered in any of these disasters?

2. AFTERMATH: What do you think authorities need to do in the aftermath of an earthquake? With your partner(s) talk about several ideas for each of the following:

Search for survivors International help The injured The homeless Food

Missing children / parents Pets People trapped under rubble Aftershocks Other

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Earthquakes / Richter scale / Pakistan / India / landslides / national tragedies / mud huts / apartment buildings / television news footage / concrete / casualties

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. EARTHQUAKE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “earthquake”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. SURVIVOR: Imagine you just experienced a powerful earthquake. In pairs / groups, talk about what you were doing at the time the quake struck, what you did, what you saw, the damage, who you helped and what you will do from now.

6. RESCUE: Rank the following in order of which you would save first if you had to evacuate your house because of an earthquake. Talk about your order with your partner(s).

____ Passport / documents ____ Money ____ Pet ____ Computer

____ Grandmother ____ Photo albums ____ Clothes ____ Other ___________________

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
 

a.	A huge earthquake has struck India and Pakistan.	T / F
b.	The quake enlarged whole villages to rubble and triggered landscapes.	T / F
c.	Kabul in Afghanistan and Dhaka in Bangladesh were also rocked.	T / F
d.	Officials are not predicting a dramatic climb in casualty figures.	T / F
e.	All buildings in the area are built to earthquake-proof specifications.	T / F
f.	An upmarket apartment complex was almost completely obliterated.	T / F
g.	Heavy machinery is stripping away the twisted steel and concrete.	T / F
h.	It is impossible to pull people out from the apartment complex.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	measuring	isolated
b.	devastating	away
c.	swathes	hordes
d.	afield	destroyed
e.	outlying	destructive
f.	crumbled	folded
g.	specifications	registering
h.	obliterated	requirements
i.	concertinaed	areas
j.	scores	disintegrated

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	A powerful earthquake	report their casualty figures
b.	it reduced whole villages	obliterated
c.	Large swathes	standards and specifications
d.	areas as far	to rubble
e.	outlying areas	afield as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka
f.	constructed to high earthquake	heap of stone and steel
g.	little chance of	measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale
h.	completely	of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered
i.	a concertinaed	of frantic rescuers
j.	Hordes	surviving intact

AFTER READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Earthquake kills 3000 across South Asia

BNE: A powerful earthquake ________ 7.6 on the Richter scale has killed at least 3,000 people in Pakistan and India. The violent and devastating quake struck with such ________ that it reduced whole villages to rubble, ________ deadly landslides and flattened a steel-reinforced-concrete apartment building. Large ________ of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered the full force and intensity of the trembler and areas as far ________ as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka also reported being ________. A Pakistani army spokesman called the devastation a “national tragedy”. Officials are warning the death toll will ________ dramatically as searches frantically continue over the coming days and ________ areas report their casualty figures.		triggered climb measuring rocked swathes outlying force afield
Thousands of mud huts and ________ built houses and buildings simply crumbled in the ________ 7.6 quake. Many buildings were not constructed to high earthquake standards and specifications and had little chance of surviving ________. One apartment block that was almost completely obliterated was the upmarket Margala Towers in Islamabad. Television news ________ shows it to be a concertinaed heap of stone and steel after the 75-apartment complex collapsed like a ________ of cards. Hordes of ________ rescuers are currently conducting the painstaking search for survivors as they strip away the concrete and ________ metal with their bare hands. ________ of dead bodies as well as those that survived are being pulled out. A local official predicted there would be “massive casualties”.		twisted intact deck scores footage cheaply frantic magnitude

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘casualty’ and ‘figure’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “EARTHQUAKE” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about earthquakes.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

scale reduced swathes afield national outlying

specifications obliterated concertinaed hordes bare scores

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What were your initial thoughts on this headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. How much did you already know about the earthquake before you read this article?
4. Can you imagine what a huge earthquake feels like?
5. What do you know about the Richter scale and magnitudes?
6. What is the first thing you should do in an earthquake?
7. Do earthquakes affect your country?
8. Do you receive any disaster training in your country?
9. What do you think you would do if your town was flattened in an earthquake?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. What do you think about what you read?
2. Do you follow news of tragedies like this?
3. Do you think there should be a coordinated United Nations agency to help disaster-stricken areas?
4. What do you know about the causes of earthquakes?
5. What is the difference between an earthquake, a tremor and an aftershock?
6. Is your house / apartment built to withstand any natural disaster?
7. What do you think people can do to reduce the cost of earthquakes on human lives?
8. What message would you give to those affected by the earthquake?
9. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: You are on the committee to create your town’s plan to prepare for a major earthquake. In pairs / groups, write down your ideas for how people can prepare for and survive an earthquake in the table below:

AREAS	BEFORE THE QUAKE	AFTER THE QUAKE
Food and water
Communication
Shelter
Family and friends
Dangerous household items
Children
Other

Change partners and tell each other about your ideas and plans. Give each other feedback to make them better.

Return to your original partner(s) and use the feedback you received to revise your plans.

Present your plans to the class. Who has the best disaster preparedness plan?

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Earthquake kills 3000 across South Asia

A powerful earthquake ___________ 7.6 on the Richter scale has killed at least 3,000 people in Pakistan and India. The violent and ___________ quake struck with such force that it reduced whole villages to rubble, ___________ deadly landslides and flattened a steel-___________-concrete apartment building. Large swathes of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered the full force and intensity of the trembler and areas as far _______ as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka also reported being rocked. A Pakistani army spokesman called the devastation a “national tragedy”. Officials are warning the death toll will climb dramatically as searches _____________ continue over the coming days and ___________ areas report their casualty figures.

Thousands of mud huts and cheaply built houses and buildings simply ___________ in the magnitude 7.6 quake. Many buildings were not constructed to high earthquake standards and specifications and had little chance of surviving ___________. One apartment block that was almost completely ___________ was the upmarket Margala Towers in Islamabad. Television news footage shows it to be a concertinaed ______ of stone and steel after the 75-apartment complex collapsed like a deck of cards. ______ of frantic rescuers are currently conducting the ______________ search for survivors as they strip away the concrete and twisted metal with their bare hands. ______ of dead bodies as well as those that survived are being pulled out. A local official predicted there would be “massive casualties”.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the South Asia earthquake. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. EARTHQUAKE POSTER: Make a poster explaining how and why earthquakes happen. Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. DIARY / SCHEDULE: Imagine you survived a major earthquake. Write the diary / journal entry for the day after the quake. Read what you wrote to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. F

c. T

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	measuring	registering
b.	devastating	destructive
c.	swathes	areas
d.	afield	away
e.	outlying	isolated
f.	crumbled	disintegrated
g.	specifications	requirements
h.	obliterated	destroyed
i.	concertinaed	folded
j.	scores	hordes

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	A powerful earthquake	measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale
b.	it reduced whole villages	to rubble
c.	Large swathes	of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered
d.	areas as far	afield as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka
e.	outlying areas	report their casualty figures
f.	constructed to high earthquake	standards and specifications
g.	little chance of	surviving intact
h.	completely	obliterated
i.	a concertinaed	heap of stone and steel
j.	Hordes	of frantic rescuers

GAP FILL:

Earthquake kills 3000 across South Asia

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has killed at least 3,000 people in Pakistan and India. The violent and devastating quake struck with such force that it reduced whole villages to rubble, triggered deadly landslides and flattened a steel-reinforced-concrete apartment building. Large swathes of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir suffered the full force and intensity of the trembler and areas as far afield as New Delhi, Kabul and Dhaka also reported being rocked. A Pakistani army spokesman called the devastation a “national tragedy”. Officials are warning the death toll will climb dramatically as searches frantically continue over the coming days and outlying areas report their casualty figures.

Thousands of mud huts and cheaply built houses and buildings simply crumbled in the magnitude 7.6 quake. Many buildings were not constructed to high earthquake standards and specifications and had little chance of surviving intact. One apartment block that was almost completely obliterated was the upmarket Margala Towers in Islamabad. Television news footage shows it to be a concertinaed heap of stone and steel after the 75-apartment complex collapsed like a deck of cards. Hordes of frantic rescuers are currently conducting the painstaking search for survivors as they strip away the concrete and twisted metal with their bare hands. Scores of dead bodies as well as those that survived are being pulled out. A local official predicted there would be “massive casualties”.

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