澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-01-13

 The weather bureau has confirmed the Brisbane River is now "at or near its peak". The level is yet to be officially announced, but it was last measured at 4.45 metres and was steady. The devastation¹ is widespread, though. Twenty thousand homes are flooded in more than 30 suburbs. Seventy-seven thousand homes and businesses are without power. About 1,000 people have spent the night in evacuation centres. 

 

Still on the floods as well, and the water is beginning to recede² in Ipswich, but around a third of the city is inundated³. The Bremer River is now below 18 metres. More than 3,000 homes and businesses have been swamped. 

 

And the flood crisis extends right across southeast Queensland, 'cause the water is starting to fall in Dalby and Condamine has been evacuated⁴ for a second time. There's concern about drinking water in the Lockyer Valley. Residents in Chinchilla and Warra are being told to boil their water. And the situation in Helidon is said to be critical. 

 

In northern New South Wales, thousands of people have been evacuated throughout the Clarence Valley. Grafton escaped the worst when the Clarence River peaked just below the town's levee. But towns downstream remain under threat. 

 

And more heavy rain is on the way in Victoria's rain-soaked north and west. There's moderate flood warning (口误) for the Avoca and Loddon rivers. Ten homes at Natimuk near Horsham have been flooded. And the SES is warning more homes in the area could be inundated in the coming days.

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

3 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。