Panama 7.6 Quake: From Village to Capital
Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, have you ever felt a building move under your feet?欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，你有没有试过感觉脚下的楼在动？
No, and I hope I never do. That sounds scary. Why do you ask? Did something happen?没有，我希望永远不要。那听起来很吓人。你为什么问？发生什么了吗？
Yes, yesterday morning. A 7.6 earthquake hit Panama. At first, scientists said it was 8.0. Later they changed it to 7.6.有，昨天早上。巴拿马发生了7.6级地震。一开始科学家说是8.0级，后来改成了7.6级。
Wow, 8.0? Even 7.6 sounds huge. Where exactly did it happen?哇，8.0？就算7.6也很大了。到底发生在哪里？
Near a small place called Pitaloza Arriba. The center was about 10 km southwest of that village. It is in Herrera province, near the southern part of the country.在一个叫 Pitaloza Arriba 的小地方附近。震中在那个村庄西南约10公里。在埃雷拉省，靠近这个国家的南部。
I have never heard that name. Is it a big city?我从没听过这个名字。是大城市吗？
No, it is a tiny remote village. Most people in the world learned this name only yesterday. But the shaking traveled very far.不是，是个偏远小村。全世界大多数人都是昨天才知道这个名字。但震感传得非常远。
How far? Did people in the capital feel it?有多远？首都的人有感觉吗？
Yes. In Panama City, buildings shook. People ran out into the streets. Outside one shopping mall, a big crowd stood and waited for news.有。在巴拿马城，楼都晃了。人们跑到街上。在一家商场外面，一大群人站着等消息。
Oh, that picture I saw. People outside the hospital too, right? Mothers and babies?哦，我看到那张照片了。医院外面也有人，对吧？妈妈和宝宝们？
Yes, at Santo Tomas hospital. People stood outside the maternity ward and checked their phones. Imagine, new babies arrived on the same morning the earth moved.对，在圣托马斯医院。人们站在产科病房外面看手机。想想看，地球晃动的同一个早上，新宝宝出生了。
That gives me goosebumps. So was the capital badly damaged?我起鸡皮疙瘩了。那首都受损严重吗？
Luckily, no. A civil protection officer named Omar Smith said there was no damage in the capital, even with its hundreds of tall buildings.幸运的是，没有。民防官员 Omar Smith 说首都没受损，尽管那里有几百栋高楼。
That is good news. But what about places near the center?那是好消息。但震中附近呢？
That is where the damage is. In three central provinces, Veraguas, Herrera, and Los Santos, some buildings and roads collapsed.那里有损失。在中部的三个省，贝拉瓜斯、埃雷拉和洛斯桑托斯，一些房子和道路塌了。
Collapsed? That sounds serious. Were many people hurt?塌了？听起来很严重。很多人受伤吗？
So far, no deaths have been reported. That is surprising for such a big quake, and everyone hopes it stays that way.目前还没有死亡报告。对这么大的地震来说很意外，大家都希望一直这样。
I hope so too. But wait, I also heard the word tsunami. Was there a wave?我也希望。不过等等，我还听到了海啸这个词。有海浪吗？
There was a warning, not a big wave in the end. Scientists said waves of 1 to 3 meters were possible along some coasts of Panama.最后只是预警，没有大浪。科学家说巴拿马部分海岸可能有1到3米的海浪。
Only Panama? Or other countries too?只有巴拿马？还是其他国家也有？
Several neighbors were on the list too, like Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. People near the sea were told to stay careful.几个邻国也在名单上，比如哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔、尼加拉瓜和危地马拉。住在海边的人被提醒要小心。
I would be so nervous if I lived near the beach. What happened in the end?如果我住在海边，肯定紧张死了。最后怎么样了？
A few hours later, the warning center said the threat had passed. No action was needed, only normal care near the sea. The US West Coast was never in danger.几小时后，预警中心说威胁已经过去。不用采取行动，在海边正常小心就行。美国西海岸从没危险。
From fear to relief in one morning. That is a lot of feelings. Was that the end?一早上从害怕到放心，心情起伏太大了。这就结束了吗？
Not quite. In the afternoon, a 6.6 aftershock hit the same area. An aftershock is a smaller quake that comes after the big one.还没完。下午，同一地区又发生了6.6级余震。余震就是大地震之后的小地震。
Oh, so the earth did not calm down at once. It is like when you drop a heavy box, and small things keep falling off the shelf.哦，所以地球不是一下就平静了。就像你掉了个重箱子，架子上的小东西还会继续往下掉。
That is a great picture. And here is one more fact. This is the fourth big quake in Latin America this year with a magnitude above 7.0.这个比喻很好。再告诉你一个事实。这是今年拉美第四个7.0级以上的大地震。
Four? I remember Venezuela in June and Colombia in August. The earth has been busy this year.四个？我记得6月委内瑞拉、8月哥伦比亚。今年地球真忙。
Busy is the right word. The depth also matters. This quake was only 10 km deep. That is shallow, so the shaking feels stronger.忙这个词很对。深度也很重要。这次地震只有10公里深。很浅，所以震感更强。
So shallow means closer to us, and we feel it more. Deep means farther away, and we feel it less. Right?所以浅就是离我们近，感觉更强。深就是离得远，感觉更弱。对吗？
Exactly. Think of it like a knock on the door. A knock right behind the door sounds loud. The same knock from three rooms away sounds soft.完全对。就像敲门。门后直接敲很响，隔三个房间敲就很轻。
That helps a lot. Two new words for me today: epicenter and aftershock. The epicenter is where it starts. The aftershock is what follows.这下明白多了。我今天学到两个新词：epicenter 和 aftershock。epicenter 是起点，aftershock 是后面的余震。
And magnitude tells us how big it is. 7.6 is major. It can destroy buildings near the center and shake cities far away.还有 magnitude 表示有多大。7.6就是大地震。能摧毁震中附近的房子，还能让远方的城市晃动。
You know what stays with me? That tiny village name. Yesterday nobody knew Pitaloza Arriba. Today the whole world is saying it.你知道我印象最深的是什么吗？那个小村名。昨天没人知道 Pitaloza Arriba，今天全世界都在念它。
And those babies at Santo Tomas hospital. One day their parents will tell them, you were born on the morning the whole country shook.还有圣托马斯医院的宝宝们。有一天他们的父母会告诉他们，你出生在举国震动的那个早上。
That is a story for life. Okay, friends, have you ever felt an earthquake? What did you do first? Tell us, and see you next time!这是一辈子的故事。好，朋友们，你感受过地震吗？你第一反应是做什么？告诉我们，下期见！