Quake Kills at Least 138 in Southeast Turkey

 　　A powerful earthquake has struck southeastern Turkey, killing¹ at least 138.  The quake, measuring 7.2, has caused buildings to collapse² in the remote and poor region and there are growing fears of of a high casualty toll³.  A major rescue operation is underway in the area.

　　In the desperate search for survivors⁴, using shovels⁵ and even their bare hands, people work through the rubble⁶ of one of numerous collapsed⁷ buildings.  In the town of Ercis close to the epicenter of the quake, 25 apartment blocks have reportedly collapsed, including a student dormitory.

　　My wife and four month old baby are inside, this man said. as he watches people digging through the rubble of his home.  But there is already growing anger.

　　Look they choose money over people's lives, this apartment building should never have collapsed, this man said.

　　Observers say Turkey has a chronic⁸ problem of poorly constructed buildings, in particular state built structures that frequently fail when earthquakes strike.  Sunday's quake measured 7.2 and struck very close to the surface, magnifying its power.

　　Southeastern Turkey is one of the most remote and poorest regions in the country.  There is growing concern for the fate of numerous small towns and villages from which there has been little news due to the telephone system failing.

　　Emergency  teams have reached some of the main cities and towns, and several ministers have visited the region.

　　Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay visited the town of Ercis, which was badly damaged by the quake.  He promised everything would be done to help.

　　A plane carrying 160 people for rescuing and assistance has been sent, two other military planes have also been dispatched.  He said the government is doing everything it can to assist.

　　The country's main earthquake research center, Kandili, in Istanbul estimated such a quake could claim between 500 and 1,000 lives.

　　Turkey is no stranger to quakes in a seismically⁹ active region.  In 1999 the Istanbul area was hit by a powerful quake killing more than 20,000 people.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

5 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

6 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

9 seismically   

地震

参考例句：

• The crust and mantle are separated by a seismically determined boundary known as the Moho-discontinuity. 改译为：地壳与地幔的交接处系根据地波走失而确定的一个界面，通称为莫霍界面。 来自互联网
• China's code is now on par with similar codes in seismically active areas of the world. 中国现在施行的标准与世界其他地震活跃地区施行的标准基本一致。 来自互联网