logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
23m 45s

Surviving earthquakes

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Earthquakes strike suddenly, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But around the world, people are trying to do what they can to make them less deadly.

We hear from Haiti, where a seismometer developed for hobbyists is now being used by citizens to build the country’s first earthquake risk map.

Over in Zurich, we meet the scientist using tennis balls to buffer buildings in poor countries from shockwaves. And in Indonesia, we find out how a Virtual Reality game is helping students prepare for terrifying tremors.

Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Claire Bates Series producer: Tom Colls Sound mix: Hal Haines Editor: Penny Murphy

Email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk

Image: A woman in Haiti holding a Raspberry Shake (Credit: Eric Calais)

Up next
Oct 27
We've moved! Subscribe to The Documentary
People Fixing The World has moved to a new home. Just search for The Documentary wherever you get your podcasts to continue hearing from Myra and the team, with a new episode exploring positive solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges published every Wednesday. 
43s
Oct 20
Breaking the code of silence
We travel to the Italian island of Sicily to see how Palermo residents are fighting back against the influence of the Mafia. Presenter Myra Anubi meets people from the charity Addiopizzo, which encourages residents to stop paying protection money known as "pizzo" and visit a neig ... Show More
23m 38s
Oct 13
The everyday tech helping to prevent disasters
For International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (October 13th), we're finding out how technology can help prevent disasters, save lives and help rescuers. In Argentina, we’ll meet Franco Rodríguez Viau whose family friends lost their home in a fire, inspiring him to find a way ... Show More
25m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Earthquake in Taiwan
A powerful earthquake hit Taiwan on Wednesday morning, but thanks to the country’s early warning system and engineering-preparedness, there was little destruction and few deaths. Seismologist Ross Stein, CEO of earthquake consultancy Temblor, Inc., shares his analysis. The highly ... Show More
27m 15s
Feb 2023
Turkey's earthquake and China's balloon
As Turkey battles against the clock to find survivors of the recent Earthquake there, we look at what triggered the magnitude 7.8 quake. Also, how modern day codebreakers have unlocked secret correspondence penned by Mary Queen of Scots from exile in the 1500s, and the overlooked ... Show More
28m 42s
Feb 2023
“The Earthquake Orphan”
Rescuers are desperately searching for survivors under the rubble of buildings in southern Turkey and northern Syria after two huge earthquakes on Monday. Adam and the BBC’s Lyse Doucet discuss some of the stories of hope and loss in the aftermath of the quake. They speak to one ... Show More
30m 50s
Feb 2023
Turkey-Syria earthquake
In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garag ... Show More
53m 32s
Jan 2024
Japan: Learning Lessons from Earthquakes
Kate Adie introduces stories from Japan, the USA, the Thailand-Myanmar border, Barbuda and Guinea-Bissau.The earthquake which shook Japan on New Year's Day brought considerable damage to the mostly-rural Noto peninsula. One noticeable pattern amidst the destruction was how much m ... Show More
28m 35s
Mar 2022
54. 地震!! 台灣生活的一部分
An episode about earthquakes and words related to emergency. Episode page: https://reurl.cc/8WgpzR Become a member and get extra learning guides for each upcoming episodes: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Chiayu Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Chiayu) 
17m 1s
Apr 2022
Seismology
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the study of earthquakes. A massive earthquake in 1755 devastated Lisbon, and this disaster helped inspire a new science of seismology which intensified after San Francisco in 1906 and advanced even further with the need to monitor nuclear tests ar ... Show More
49m 35s
Feb 2023
Turkey-Syria earthquake
In the early hours of Monday, a powerful earthquake hit Kahramanmaras in Turkey. Nine hours later another struck. When this edition of Science in Action first aired, 19,000 people were reported to have died, but that number was expected to rise. Back in 2016, Professor Asli Garag ... Show More
32m 15s