Reading Comprehension

Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions below.

On February 9, 1999, villagers in the tiny town of Montroc, France, shovelled away three days’ worth of snow. While they were busy cleaning away the white mounds, a distant roar sounded out above the town. In less than two minutes, 300,000 cubic meters of snow, boulders, earth, and trees engulfed this once sleepy village. Fourteen buildings were flattened, and as many as 50 people were buried beneath tons of snow and rubble. Skilled rescuers couldn’t make their way to the town, so the townspeople had to rely on one another. As the snow hardened to a concrete-like state, minutes felt like hours as lives hung on the line due to the Avalanche at Montroc.

On October 12, 1984, then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, UK attending her party’s annual conference. In the early hours of the morning, an Irish Republican Army(IRA) bomb was detonated. The 11-man Brighton fire brigade rushed to the scene and, along with bystanders, searched for the injured under debris. After the smoke cleared, five people had died, and the Brighton Bombing went down in history.

The London subway attacks of 2006 shocked the city as well as the world. This wasn’t the first time that the British capital was under siege. In April of 1980, the Iranian Embassy was under attack, and for six days, the world held its collective breaths. Watch as highly-trained Special Air Service members bring this ordeal to an end, and 19 hostages are courageously rescued.

As long as people are in danger, rescue efforts will be necessary. Tune in to watch as NGC digs a way through some of the most harrowing tales in Rescue Emergency.

In case of an emergency, we all know to pick up the phone and dial 119. Within minutes, help can be on its way and chances of survival are increased. In situations where seconds can make the difference between life and death, rescuers and everyday citizens play vital roles in saving lives. This month, National Geographic Channel introduces Rescue Emergency.