Venezuela, Colombia Quakes Expose Contrasting Rescue Efforts

Sometimes the ground shakes very hard, and that is called an earthquake.

Two big earthquakes happened close together in time in two neighboring countries, Venezuela and Colombia.

When earthquakes are this strong, buildings can fall down and hurt people, so rescue workers must dig through the rubble to save them.

In Venezuela, regular people like neighbors and families had to do most of the digging with their bare hands, buckets, and sticks, because there were not many official helpers.

In Colombia, volunteers also helped at first, but quickly official teams like firefighters, police, and navy rescuers arrived and worked together in an organized way.

Far more people died in Venezuela, 6,300, than in Colombia, where at least 285 people died.

The earthquakes were similar in strength, but Venezuela has had many years of shortages, money problems, and people leaving the country, which makes it harder to respond.

Venezuela's acting president says her government acted right away, but people at the scene say they were left to help themselves for a long time.

Colombia's brand-new president had only been in the job for three days when the earthquake hit, and he now has to decide how to spend emergency money.

Aid workers warn that the emergency has barely begun, and children in both countries will need help for many years.