In 1999, Just Before Christmas, a Flash Flood in Venezuela Killed Thousands

7B When the flash flood struck **

Name Class

In 1999, just before Christmas, a flash flood in Venezuela killed thousands. Read this passage, then answer the questions in your exercise book.

IT IS LIKE A WAR ZONE. Helicopters mud and rubble. A tearful Lenin Marcano, clatter across the sky, carrying survivors. the mayor of Caracas, says 25 000 have died On the ground, thousands of people in Vargas. But like everyone else he is trudge through the mud and debris, guessing. There is only one main road clutching a few possessions. through Vargas. Most of it is now buried in mud and rock up to 6 feet deep. The state of Vargas is just a narrow strip Large stretches have been washed away. between a mountain and the sea. At weekends, people from Caracas flocked In La Guaira, there is destruction everywhere. there to enjoy the beaches. But early on One narrow street is filled with rocks up Thursday morning, after two weeks of non- to the first floor windows. In the next stop rain, a flood burst from the street, half-a-dozen cars are smashed mountain. Walls of water 20 feet high against a church wall. On a rooftop lies a swept down the steep gullies, carrying corpse with a sheet for a shroud. The whole trees and rocks the size of cars. stench reminds you that many more lie buried in the mud. Helio Rodriguez lost nine cousins and two aunts in one of the first houses to be Vargas is worst hit – but almost all of swept away. ‘Nobody escaped, nobody,’ northern Venezuela has suffered. In Caracas, he said. thousands were stranded in their high-rise ‘People ran, but what could they do?’ flats when flood waters rose three storeys. Across the country an estimated 23 000 No one knows yet how many have died. Most homes have been destroyed and 96 000 of the dead are still lying underneath the damaged. The death toll is unknown.

(Adapted from the Independent, 20 December 1999)

1 Where in the world is Vargas? Give the country and continent. C a r i b b e a n S e a 2 Along which sea does Vargas lie?

3 People from Caracas used to go to Vargas at the weekends. La Guaira Why? Varga 4 The flood was a flash flood. What does that mean? Caracas 5 What was the main cause of the flood? mountains 6 What part do you think the mountain played in the flood? V E N E Z U E L A 7 Name the capital city affected by the flood. 8 Write down the three most serious consequences of the flood. C O L O M B I A 9 Describe two ways in which people are managing to escape. B R A Z I L 10 Why would it be hard to rescue people by ambulance? N 11 What kind of help do you think the survivors will need?

(Think about how they are feeling, as well as other needs.) 0 2000 4000km