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One World with Zain Asher
7.4 Magnitude Quake Claims At Least 20 Lives In Colombia; Soon: Jury Selection To Begin In Tupac Shakur Murder Trial; UNICEF: Average Of One Child Killed In Gaza Daily; Nine-Year-Old Boy Missing After Being Swept Into Sea In China; HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Hosts Food Policy Initiatives Event; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired August 10, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:35]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
At this hour, the crews are digging through rubble in Colombia after a powerful 7.4 earthquake struck the country's Western region. The quake
claimed at least 20 lives, brought down buildings, and was felt as far away as Venezuela.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SCREAMS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Screaming there, really chaotic scenes. This is in the mountains town of Pereira, where at least 18 people have lost their lives. You can
see parts of the buildings just essentially crumbling to the ground as people flee the collapsing walls.
This video, from social media, shows the moment the quake struck in Cali, in Colombia. This is, again, people are screaming. A lot of fear there.
People running into the street. The city's mayor says that at least 20 buildings collapsed and trapped several people. And a rescue effort is --
is, of course, underway.
This is video of Cali as well where some 20 buildings collapsed. The mayor says that there are people who are still trapped inside. The rescue crews
from Bogota are assisting the rescue efforts.
Last hour, we spoke with Glaeldys Gonzalez from the International Crisis Group, who felt the earthquake in Bogota.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLAELDYS GONZALEZ, ANALYST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: There has been reports of injured people and collapsed buildings. And so far, we don't
know the extent and the magnitude of the damage that this has caused.
But this certainly adds to or -- or -- or raises a concern about the -- the aftermath and the implications that it will have in these areas in terms of
reconstruction and attention to victims.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. CNN's Rafael Romo joins us live now from Atlanta with the latest on this earthquake.
And, obviously, those scenes are absolutely terrifying. You see buildings crumbling, people running sort of in different directions, screaming. And
obviously your -- your heart goes out to anyone who might have a family member who lives in a particular building or is missing at this point in
time. I think the really sort of heartbreaking thing is obviously this just happened, what, four or five hours ago.
And so the fear is that the death toll could, at this point, rise quite significantly, Rafael.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Zain. And that's what I wanted to begin with, because we are hearing that there are as many as 20
people dead.
Now, and most of the deaths happened in the Colombian city of Pereira in the center of the country due to the magnitude 7.4 earthquake. The death
toll was confirmed by the city's mayor, Mauricio Salazar, and statements made to local media with at least two dead in the city of Manizales in
Caldas Province. The death toll from Pereira brings a total number of confirmed deaths following the earthquake to at least 20, as I was telling
you before. This is according to Manizales mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas, who also said in a video he posted on X that many structures were affected. We
have buildings that are totally or partially destroyed.
He said, regarding the deaths, the mayor said that those two people died as a result of the event, meaning the earthquake, or in circumstances closely
related to it.
Rojas also said that the city's suspended service on the Manizales aerial cable car system due to structural damage and that authorities are
evacuating passengers.
Just a few moments ago we also heard from the mayor of the city of Cali. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO EDER, MAYOR OF CALI (through translator): We are at the forefront of this emergency with all of Cali's relief agencies. I ask citizens to
remain calm. Also, check if your buildings have apparent structure or damage.
If you don't feel safe, if you see very large cracks, please exit the building. I also ask citizens to report as soon as possible any additional
damage that we have not yet detected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: The earthquake happened at 7:34 in the morning local time in Colombia, 8:34 a.m. Eastern time in the United States and had a 7.4
magnitude according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar. This is in Colombia's Choco province about 280 kilometers west of Bogota, the Colombian capital and had
a depth of 107 kilometers.
[12:05:06]
We have been getting images of how it was felt in Cali, Colombia's third largest city. And there is a building that seems to be about to collapse
while people frantically run out of buildings to the streets to get away from structures and be safe.
The U.S. Geological Survey also said that two million people, two million, were exposed to very strong shaking, a level seven out of 10 on the scale
it uses to measure an earthquake's impact.
According to the USGS, this level of shaking may bring considerable damage in poorly built structures and slight to moderate damage to well-built
structure.
The most populated cities likely affected include Zarzal, Pereira, and Armenia. USGS estimates significant casualties could be among the
potentially widespread damage based on the shaking with roughly one in three chance that fatalities could top 1,000.
So, Zain, a very, very terrifying situation as you were saying at the beginning.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, it's terrifying especially because of what we saw in neighboring Venezuela with those twin earthquakes that were around about
the same level on the Richter scale, but obviously, it does depend on the depth of the earthquake, but -- but still when you -- when you look at
Venezuela and you see that 6,000 (ph) people have been confirmed dead from those earthquakes, it is -- it is certainly scary stuff.
A lot of people bracing for what we could end up seeing it in Colombia.
Rafael Romo, thank you so much.
All right. Jury selection in an iconic cold case is set to begin this hour in Las Vegas. The man accused of orchestrating the 1996 murder of one of
hip-hop's most influential rapper, Tupac Shakur, heads to a courtroom for the start of the trial.
Duane Kevin Davis, aka Keffe D, was indicted on the charge of murder with a deadly weapon back in 2023. Prosecutors alleged that Davis, a former Crips,
a gang member, planned the shooting after a fight between Shakur's entourage and his nephew, Orlando Anderson.
Investigators say they've gathered enough evidence against him to take the case to court. Much of it, by the way, coming from Davis himself.
On September 7th, 1996, 25-year-old Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting after he attended a Mike Tyson boxing match on the Las Vegas
Strip. Shakur was at the height of his career at the time, but he was also in the middle of a major feud between big-time rappers from the East Coast
and West Coast. Icons like the biggie Smalls, Sean "Diddy" Combs, among others.
Shakur was in the passenger seat of that car driven by the now infamous Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. He was also shot but he
survived.
The murder case has been the subject of a lot of conspiracy theories and ongoing public interests ever since then because it has been unresolved.
Meantime, Shakur's stepbrother spoke to CNN about his family's reaction on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOPREME SHAKUR, TUPAC SHAKUR'S STEPBROTHER: It has been rough as it would be for anyone revisiting a situation like this.
We're just being cautiously optimistic. Let the -- the, you know, process take its course and see where we land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
All right. Let's get straight to CNN's Nick Watt in Los Angeles.
Just in terms of the man at the center of his case, Keffe D, no one is alleging that he pulled the trigger that night. Prosecutors essentially
saying that -- that he orchestrated it, that he was sort of the boss of -- of -- of those involved.
Just walk us to what we know from his book. What did he say himself about his involvement in Tupac Shakur's killing, Nick?
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, that is going to be the center of this trial. You know, detectives, after Keffe D's arrest said, listen, we
pretty much knew what happened in the months after the killing, but we just didn't have the evidence.
So, Keffe D, then in this book in 2019, kind of laid out what he says happened and then he made media appearances and talked through his
involvement.
That, say, prosecutors is what has landed Keffe D in court. If he'd kept his mouth shut, this would -- this would not be happening.
So now, though, Keffe D says, don't believe what I said in that book. They were trying to sell books. I was pressured into saying that stuff. So,
we've got this strange situation that what we're probably going to see in this courtroom over the next four to six weeks is Keffe D's own defense
saying, do not believe what our -- what our client says. And you've got -- you're going to have the prosecution saying, you should really believe this
guy.
[12:10:02]
So, that is going to be what plays out because Keffe D now is saying, I wasn't even there. I wasn't even in Nevada when it happened. And, you know,
those words of Keffe D are really all that the prosecution has. You know, there's no murder weapon, there's no surveillance video.
The three other people who were in that white Cadillac with Keffe D that night, they're all dead, including Keffe D's nephew, Baby Lane, who is
alleged to have been the man who actually pulled the trigger. But under Nevada law, they're saying that Keffe D was the boss, he was the shot
caller, and therefore, he can be charged with murder. So, it is going to be fascinating to see how this plays out.
You know, what they say happened is that the two gangs were at a Mike Tyson fight in Vegas at the MGM, and afterwards, there was a fight between them.
And that is on video. We do have that video, which allegedly shows Tupac and Suge Knight and some others seeing Baby Lane, Keffe D's nephew, going
over and they start beating him up.
And allegedly after that, Keffe D made the call enough is enough, got the weapon, got in the Cadillac, followed Suge and Tupac who were in a black
BMW driving to a club, drive-by shooting. Tupac was shot a few times, died six days later. It's now 30 years later, and we are finally going to see
this in a courtroom.
And as you mentioned, Zain, listen, this has kept hold of the public imagination over the years, because, you know, Tupac was such a
charismatic, talented artist at the peak of his career, that whole East Coast, West Coast rap battle captured people's attention, and there have
been numerous documentaries made since.
And then of course, Keffe D himself got caught up in all of that, wrote this book, made all these media appearances. And without doing that, he
would still be a 63-year-old guy just chilling in his house. Instead, he is in a courtroom, he could face life. He is, as I say, 63 right now. Zain.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, as you mentioned, it is sort of a bizarre thing to admit to in a book and sort of --
WATT: Yes.
ASHER: -- and talk about, and that is ultimately what has go him into trouble here.
Nick Watt, thank you.
WATT: No problem.
ASHER: Appreciate it.
All right. Now to a divisive moment between various -- between the U.S., rather, and Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting President
Trump's Gaza peace plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israel rejects the 15-point plan. I heard that there were those who said, you
didn't say it, but we did say it. And here I am saying it again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Netanyahu's comments come more than a week after President Trump announced a breakthrough in negotiations. The roadmap calls for Hamas to
lay down its arms, and in response, Israel withdraw its troops in stages from inside Gaza. However, Netanyahu is concerned about what he calls a
fictitious disarmament.
As world leaders go back and forth on Gaza's future, the reality inside the territory remains dire. UNICEF estimates that on average one child a day is
being killed.
Shaina Low is communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council and joins us live now. Shaina, thank you so much for being with us.
And, obviously, there is technically a ceasefire in place, but that ceasefire has obviously been violated many times over.
For children on the ground there in Gaza who have been suffering through this, I mean, obviously, they risk death. There's the issue of
malnutrition. There's the issue of -- of inadequate access to healthcare. There's certainly a lot of concern about -- concerns about water quality
and sanitation systems in Gaza.
Just explain to us what children in Gaza are going through right now, Shaina.
SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Children in Gaza have suffered tremendously over the last three years and continue,
despite 10 months after a -- a ceasefire agreement was signed, continue to suffer the consequences of Israel's restrictions on aid, the ability to get
in essential materials.
We know that 21,000 children were killed during active hostilities and another 300 since -- since the ceasefire came -- came to be last -- last
fall.
In terms of needs for children, it's everything from food, clothing, adequate shelter, hundreds of thousands of people. The vast majority of
families are in desperate need of shelter assistance. Kids have also been out of school for -- for three years.
And so for them, there's so much lost learning that they need to catch up on. Schools are still being used as displacement shelters. And so we're --
we're quickly approaching back to school time, but many students won't be able to return to school or will be learning in -- in temporary learning
spaces set up by organizations like NRC and other organizations on the ground.
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ASHER: And just in terms of aid access, I mean this is something that we've covered a lot during this war, but even though there is a ceasefire
technically, and I use the word technically, I underline that word, in place, what is aid access into Gaza like for humanitarian aid agencies like
the NRC right now?
LOW: Well, first of all, only one crossing into Gaza is open right now, and that's been the case for several months, so it limits the capacity of what
can get through. And -- and for three years, we've been calling on Israel to open all of the crossings to allow for an influx of aid.
On top of that, there are restrictions in terms of the type of materials that can enter. So, NRC leads the shelter cluster which coordinates the
shelter response. And so there are essential materials like cement, concrete, rebar, things that are needed to -- to get people out of
emergency shelter and into something more transitional and more durable that we just aren't able to do.
And then thirdly, there's the restrictions that are placed on organizations, international NGOs, like NRC, where Israel just has
completely barred us from bringing any aid directly into Gaza. And that's been the case since March 2nd of last year, nearly 18 months that we've
been unable to bring anything in directly.
And so we're reliant on partners that are able to get an aid and act as -- as downstream partners in terms of distributions and reaching people and
finding whatever is available on the local market though, of course, that's quite limited and -- and the costs are quite expensive because of how
limited essential supplies are on the market.
On top of all of that, since December 31st of this year, NRC and dozens of other international NGOs have been unable to bring any international staff
into Gaza to support our teams there.
Our -- our international staff provide an extra layer of support. They don't have to worry about their families and their family's survival, the
way that our local staff do. They are able to -- we're able to rotate out and come back in refreshed unlike our staff in Gaza who have lived through
nearly three years of displacement.
Many of our staff remain displaced and are living in emergency shelters like tents or makeshift shelters, but they continue to do the best that
they can but we are facing limitations. Everything from what type of aid can get in, how much aid can get in, where it's getting in from and then of
course funding shortfalls.
And the response is severely underfunded. And donor states need to really step up. And one demands that Israel unblock -- unblock the aid and allow
it to enter in. Israel has obligations under international humanitarian law to facilitate.
The entry of humanitarian assistance that was reaffirmed last year by the International Court of Justice. And we also need donor states to step up
and -- and give more to this response so that we can continue to save lives and -- and -- and -- and work to -- to stabilize the situation for people
who have been under three years of -- who have faced three years of uncertainty and displacement and destruction.
ASHER: I mean, so it's such a complex web of problems that you lay out. I mean, everything from access to aid, getting aid into the enclave. It's
everything from what the humanitarian volunteers are dealing with in Gaza, donor funding that sort of thing.
And I imagine that probably the most serious humanitarian issue in Gaza, I imagine, would be access to clean water. It's not as simple as, you know,
obviously, a lot of us take for granted just this idea of being able to turn on your faucet and get access to clean water and having that be
reliable.
That's not the case in Gaza, even the water that is available isn't necessarily safe to drink. And then you have the issues with a lot of the
water infrastructure and desalination plans having been damaged in the war.
So, how are people getting access to clean water in Gaza right now?
LOW: Well, a recent report issued by the WASH Cluster which coordinates the -- the water and sanitation response identified that there were 78 percent
of the population were water insecure and surviving on less than -- than six liters per day of drinking water.
The vast majority of people are still relying on water trucking which is something that we should be moving beyond. It's very expensive. It's
costly. It requires a lot of coordination. And we should be working towards repairing the infrastructure, but we're also facing struggles there.
Israel is limiting and restricting the amount of spare parts that can enter. We also have materials like lubricant oil that's needed to keep
machinery running. So, while our teams have been working all year to actually expand and improve infrastructure, everything from sewage systems
to digging boreholes, to -- to connect people's faucets directly to water, it's -- it's extremely expensive, it's difficult to coordinate. Many of the
areas that we'd like to be working in are very close to the yellow line, and so it's difficult for our staff to even reach those places.
[12:20:29]
And so, I mean, this is a -- a huge obstacle and -- and we -- we're doing the best we can, but everything is expensive and everything is difficult.
And -- and really the donors and the diplomatic community should -- should want us to have their money go further. They should be pushing for us to be
able to get in aid, to get in necessary materials so that we can improve the situation and -- and also lower the cost of the response.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, as you point out, I mean, this idea of sort of trying to get the water infrastructure back online to where it was is -- is
incredibly difficult, expensive, but the way things are now, just in terms of you point out water trucking, which means rationing your water, severely
rationing it in order to have enough. I mean, obviously, those are very, very difficult circumstances for people in our enclave to have to deal with
on a daily basis with no real end to that in sight.
Shaina Low, thank you so much for the work you and your teams are doing on the ground there in Gaza. Really appreciate it.
All right. Still to come here on "One World," the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary announces a change to modernize the food ingredients
that you consume. We'll have details on that ahead.
And from salsas to sandwiches, a major recall is expanding the fallout from a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Rescuers in eastern China are searching for a nine-year- old boy who was swept out to sea by a massive wave. It happened on Friday as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall. The storm hit with winds equal to a
category one hurricane. You can see here the flooding it caused in Shanghai. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated and airlines
canceled, thousands of flights as well.
CNN's Mike Valerio is in Beijing with more on the storm.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly tons of rainfall. A nine- year-old boy who was swept out to see and more than a thousand flights canceled. Those are the main storylines that we are following here.
[12:25:06]
So, according to forecasters in China, because of this storm, Dolphin, Central and Eastern Zhejiang Province could get between 250 millimeters of
rain, which is as we hold up our tape measure, I would be about this much right here, between 250 and 500, there we go, millimeters of rain, because
of this storm, which is the rough equivalent of around 9.8 inches to 19.7 inches of rain. That is the expectation from forecasters because of this
storm.
Torrential rain in Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian Province, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui in Jiangsu province as
well.
A nine-year-old boy on Friday was with family members when one of the gigantic waves crashed against the seashore. Again, this is happening in
Zhejiang province, which is south of Shanghai.
Still, authorities were searching for the boy by the middle of the day on Monday after he was swept out to sea by one of those waves crashing into
the sea front.
More than a million people evacuated because of this storm. Shanghai's Yangshan Province moved more than 500 vessels to shelter.
Shanghai also canceled about 1,500 flights, which is data according to VariFlight.
Shanghai also evacuated, just imagine this, wherever you're watching us from, 30,300 people. And even more than that, in Zhejiang Province in the
city of Guangzhou, they relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened more than a thousand emergency shelters.
This storm tracking westward before slowing over central and southwestern China. The danger of flooding, and landslides is expecting to persist.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. The Trump administration is touting its actions to improve the nation's food supply. It's also highlighting its stated agenda
to make America healthy again.
The U.S. Health and Human Services secretary outlined some of the measures at an event in the past hour. Robert F. Kennedy says the country cannot
reverse its chronic disease problem without transforming its food systems.
He says the move will bring -- bring greater transparency to what's in foods here in the United States.
CNN's health reporter, Jacqueline Howard joins us live now from Atlanta with more on that event.
So, what goes through what the secretary announced here?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The secretary announced that they are proposing to reform a program called GRAS, and G-R-A-S stands for
Generally Recognized As Safe.
And through this program, the secretary says that they're going to actually have more oversight when it comes to the ingredients food companies put
into their products.
Now, what I can tell you about this program GRAS, Generally Recognized As Safe, it was first introduced in 1958, and it was intended to be applied to
commonly used ingredients in food products like garlic, vanilla, or baking soda.
And it was a program in which food companies could declare food ingredients as safe, because they were generally considered to be safe. They were
generally common. Again, vanilla, baking soda, flour, water, yeast, garlic, these were all considered GRAS, Generally Recognized As Safe.
But then in the late 1990s, food companies started to apply GRAS to ingredients like additives and food dyes. And the food companies said that
these chemicals, according to the industry, were also generally recognized as safe.
And one analysis estimates that nearly 99 percent of new chemicals used in foods or food packaging since the year 2000. The industry deemed those as
generally recognized as safe. So, this is a -- a recent trend that we've seen develop since the late 1990s.
And this is what Secretary Kennedy says he wants to reform. He said the industry is using GRAS as a loophole. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We cannot spend our way out of a chronic disease epidemic while ignoring the things that are
making Americans sick.
Food is the most powerful weapon that we have in our arsenal to change the trajectory of the chronic disease epidemic. Parents should not need a
chemistry degree to understand what their children are eating. Americans deserve real transparency. They deserve real food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD: So, Zain, Secretary Kennedy is proposing a rule in which food companies will have to provide to the FDA data showing why they're calling
an ingredient safe. And this will basically be a requirement for food companies moving forward. And federal health officials say that this is a
major change in oversights. But again, this is a proposed rule. It's not final quite yet, Zain.
[12:30:23]
ASHER: All right. Jacqueline Howard, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. More than a dozen Taylor Farms products are being recalled over a possible salmonella risk. The products include salsas dips and sandwiches
sold at major retailers in the United States.
The jalapenos came from the same supplier linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened about 350 people. Taylor Farms says that no illnesses
have been linked to its recalled products.
All right. Still to come on "One World," a deadly earthquake rocks Colombia, buildings collapsed, people are trapped, and rescue crews are
racing to reach them. The latest on our breaking news, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World."
I want to bring you up to speed now on the breaking news we are following out of Colombia where a 7.4 magnitude earthquake has rocked the western
part of the country. At least 29 people are now reported dead. The country's aviation authority says that six airports were damaged in the
quake including in the city of Pereira where operations have been suspended for now.
Watch the startling moment inside as the quake hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(RUMBLING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:35:18]
ASHER: An incredibly violent earthquake that was the airport in the city of Pereira. Colombia -- Colombia's president says that he is, quote, standing
firm for the nation and has cancelled his schedule to focus on responding to this disaster.
This video here from social media shows the moment the quake struck in the city of Cali. There, obviously, the building has been toppled, the building
completely crumbled to the ground. The city's mayor says at least 20 buildings collapsed, trapping several people, and that a rescue effort is
underway.
Let's discuss all of this with Maureen Long, seismologist and professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale University.
One of the interesting things about Colombia compared to Venezuela, I mean, obviously, it was just six weeks ago that we saw those twin earthquakes in
Venezuela, the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude. We know that -- that the death toll that that caused is in the tens of thousands.
Now, here you have six weeks later in neighboring Colombia, an earthquake that is 7.4 on the Richter scale. I think the key difference that I want
our audience to understand is that Colombia, because the western part of the country generally does have a bit more seismic activity, much smaller
earthquakes, generally not anything close to seven on the Richter scale, but they are used to earthquake activity.
And therefore, the buildings are built to a certain code. Not all of them, of course. There are some buildings that are much older that -- that don't
have that code, but there are buildings that are much stronger built to be earthquake resistant.
What can you tell us about that and how that affects the impacts of -- of this earthquake?
MAUREEN LONG, SEISMOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, YALE UNIVERSITY: Yes, you're absolutely right. I mean, when we think about
what kind of damage an earthquake is going to cause, a really key point is what is the infrastructure like? And, of course, the amount of shaking and
the severity of the shaking of the earthquake is an important factor.
But another important factor is, what does that infrastructure look like? Is it built to withstand earthquakes? And you're absolutely right that
there are regional differences between countries, sometimes between cities, about the quality of that infrastructure.
ASHER: In terms of rescue efforts, and obviously you're a seismologist, you're not a rescuer, but, you know, having sort of studied these sorts of
things before, and obviously, I mean, the first thought I had when I saw this news is that for family members who have loved ones who are trapped in
a building that you know has collapsed, I mean, that must be one of the most brutal and unbearable psychological experiences that -- that I -- that
I could think of because with every sort of moment, every sort of passing of time must just feel really difficult to bear.
How do rescue crews in this kind of situation really balance and sort of figure out what to prioritize in that kind of environment when you have so
many buildings that have been -- that have -- that have fallen, that have crumbled to the ground? How do you prioritize which buildings to go into,
where to begin your rescue efforts?
LONG: A great question. I mean, as you said, I'm a seismologist and not a first responder, but certainly, you know, anyone looking at that footage of
buildings coming down, you know, just, I mean, your heart aches for the folks that are -- are affected by it. And certainly for myself and all of
us in the seismology research community, you know, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected.
I mean, certainly for rescue crews who are -- are working directly on rescue and trying to, you know, save people who are potentially trapped in
-- in buildings, one thing to keep in mind is that, you know, there is a possibility of aftershocks, indeed, a strong probability of aftershocks.
There have been, I believe, already three or four aftershocks that have been reported for this event. That's certainly something for rescue crews
to come and keep in mind, and it -- it certainly doesn't make it easier knowing that you have to worry about subsequent shaking from aftershocks
during the rescue efforts.
ASHER: I mean, yes, because you haven't even processed what just happened, and then you're having sort of prepared for more aftershocks.
You know, I don't know if it's possible for our control room to pull up the video of the airport in Pereira. We showed it about a few minutes ago.
Essentially, we have video inside one of the airports where, you know, people you can see at the beginning, they start running in different
directions because they can sort of feel the ground shaking. And you can see debris falling from the ceiling of the airport. And then people stand
in one spot. I think they stand sort of close to these columns in the center of the airport terminal where we can -- where we have camera
footage.
[12:40:04]
What is the proper thing to do in that kind of -- kind of environment? At first, you see people running in different directions and then they stand
under a column. What -- what is -- what is the right protocol when you're dealing with an earthquake like that?
LONG: I'm glad you -- I'm very glad you asked that question because, you know, earthquakes are scary. Being in an earthquake is scary. I myself have
only felt a couple relatively small ones, but knowing what to do if you feel strong earthquake shaking, you know, is very empowering. So, I think
for all of us, it's good to know what to do.
The best advice that -- that experts usually give is to do what we call drop, cover, and hold on. So you want to, you know, get down, get your head
and your body under a desk or a table or a chair or something and hold on to something during the shaking.
And the reason for that is that, you know, a big hazard during earthquakes is, of course, falling debris, as we can see in that video. So, being the
best advice is to try to find somewhere where you can be under a piece of furniture or a table to try to protect yourself from falling debris.
ASHER: Yes. It's absolutely terrifying, especially when you -- just one of the videos --
LONG: Yes.
ASHER: -- we had earlier. I don't think we have it. But when you just see how violent the shaking is, you know, God knows what -- what would have
been going through the minds of all of those people who may have been trapped in that airport for that period of time.
Maureen Long, thank you so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.
All right. Parts of Europe are preparing for a rare site later this week, a total solar eclipse. A solar eclipse will be visible in Greenland, Iceland,
part of Portugal and Spain. Other parts of Europe will experience a partial eclipse in Madrid. Protective glasses are in high-demand ahead of
Wednesday's event. The last total solar eclipse visible on the Iberian Peninsula was back in 1912.
CNN's extensive coverage of the total solar eclipse gets underway Wednesday at one o'clock Eastern Time. That is 6:00 P.M. if you are watching from
London.
And that does it for these past two hours of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for being with us. "African Voices Playmakers," is up
next. You're watching CNN.
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