In the news: Haiti Earthquake / Level: High Intermediate

Have you been following the news out of Haiti using English-speaking media. Here's some of the vocabulary that's being used. What are your thoughts on the earthquake. Do they happen in your country?

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake ravaged the Caribbean country of Haiti on January 12, 2010. Widespread damage resulted from the quake, with a majority of buildings collapsing due to poor structural design. The capital city was devastated. The quake has left a large part of the population homeless and whole families sleep on the street. Even President Préval was unsure of where he was going to sleep after his home was destroyed.

Most people are still too afraid to take shelter inside the buildings. Tremors are still being felt here and even the hospitals are treating their patients on the land outside the hospitals.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, was still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008 when the quake struck. For years the French-speaking country has been battling widespread economic and social problems, as well as being the victim of natural disasters.

The risk of violence stemming from shortages of food, water, medicine and shelter will grow with each day that relief supplies fail to reach Haitians in their time of need. International aid organisations must work fast - not only to save lives but also to avert chaos.

The organisations estimate 45,000-50,000 people have died as rescue teams race against time to find survivors. USA has sent over 3000 people, but a lot more help is needed.

Link: In the news - Natural Disasters

• The word 'ravaged' means:
  
  killed
  destroyed
  hurt
  got
  
  
• The word 'estimate' means:
  
  count
  know
  fear
  believe
  
  
• The word 'collapsing' means:
  
  old
  made of stone
  falling down
  catching fire
  
  
• The word 'shelter' means:
  
  protection
  sleep
  work
  go
  
  
• The word 'treating' means:
  
  escaping
  looking for
  taking
  caring for
  
  
• The word 'struck' is the past tense of:
  
  stress
  strike
  strum
  stroke
  
  
• The word 'battling' means:
  
  fighting
  using
  saving
  losing
  
  
• An example of a 'natural disaster' is:
  
  a tsunami
  poverty
  drugs
  a war
  
  
• The word 'relief' means:
  
  return
  support
  work
  damage
  
  
• The word 'chaos' means:
  
  anger
  sickness
  disappointment
  disorder