COLOMBIA: ARMENIA: EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH скачать в хорошем качестве

COLOMBIA: ARMENIA: EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH

(25 Jul 1999) Spanish/Nat Monday will mark six months to the day since a devastating earthquake ripped through Colombia's central coffee growing belt and killed nearly 12-hundred people. More than a quarter of a (m) million people were left homeless and in the worst hit area, around the provincial capital Armenia, 65 percent of buildings were destroyed. Much of the city remains rubble and many have yet to recover from the trauma, but the slow process of rebuilding is underway. This roadside notice board spells out a message of defiance - Armenia Viva, which means Armenia lives. Six months ago, Armenia seemed barely alive. On January 25, an earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter Scale struck a large area of central Colombia and in seconds caused complete destruction. More than a thousand people died and some 250-thousand survivors were left homeless. The city of Armenia - home to 300-thousand - was the worst hit and the scars of rubble and of land where buildings once stood are plain to see. Three quarters of Armenia's schools were abandoned due to structural damage and the future of the younger generations remains uncertain. Temporary buildings have been set up to ensure their education continues, but longer term construction has yet to begin. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "Well, the answer is just to take it in your stride because you have to until at least we have something, a place where they can educate us and where we can work." SUPER CAPTION: Ana Maria Ramirez, student Teachers are concerned at the disruption the quake has caused to their students' education. The displacement and lack of proper facilities only adds to the traumas many have suffered at home. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "The students became slightly depressed on an emotional level at first due to the nature of these shelters. They're not made in the best possible way, or with the best materials - for example from the point of view of weather - they are not weather proof. In summer, due to the excessive heat, as at this point in time, the students want to go and do things outside the shelters. In the winter, water comes in because there are open spaces, a lot of open air where the students sit so water will come in." SUPER CAPTION: Harol Leder Jara, teacher Damage to the region is estimated to stand at around two (b) billion U-S dollars. But officials, including Armenia's own mayor, are optimistic a new city will rise from the dust and rubble. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "We are thinking of the citizens and of Armenia in the twenty first century. It is better to plan since we are now in crisis and out of this crisis we are going to seek opportunities so that our students look away from their own crises, their own problems, at what hopes they have for the future and how they can take their lives forward." SUPER CAPTION: Maria Ines Montoya, Head teacher, Rufino J Cuervo school But many families left homeless by the quake have opted to rebuild their lives elsewhere. And it is estimated more than 50-thousand have left the region in search of a new life. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...