2016年CRI China rainstorm death toll rises; more rain expected

 

Floods caused by heavy rain have cut power and water supplies in parts of the city of Wuhan in central China.

Traffic has been paralyzed as many roads are shut and public transportation services suspended.

In one of the worst flood-hit areas in Wuhan's Wuchang District, rescue workers are having to use inflatable boats to relocate people to safer ground.

One rescue worker told how they have been working all day to get people out of the flooded buildings.

"The hardest part is over. When we first got here, more than 300 residents were trapped in their homes. We have relocated pregnant women and older people in the other neighborhood. We went in a couple more times and brought out some more people. Now most of them are safe."

The people who have been rescued have been found shelter at a school nearby where they've been given basic living necessities.

The head of the residential¹ committee, surnamed Wen, says people there are in a stable condition.

"We have more than 120 people at the relocation site. They are emotionally well. The committee has offered them the basic necessities. Several older people are upset of their economic loss but are glad that they have been helped."

The flooding has damaged several river banks in other parts of the area, putting the lives of millions of people in danger should there be a breach².

More than 700 troops have been deployed³ in the area to help the disaster and relief efforts.

Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has ordered the People's Liberation Army and armed police force to send more troops to support flood control and rescue operations.

Nearly 600 thousand people are in urgent need for basic living assistance in other villages along the Yangtze River where floods have resulted in a total economic loss of around 38 billion yuan.

Chinese Premier⁴ Li Keqiang has visited some of the disaster-affected areas in Anhui and Hunan provinces.

He stressed the importance of the flood prevention work as well as the elimination⁵ of pooling or standing⁶ water in urban areas.

"Pooling water in urban areas has become a big problem for us, not only in southern cities but in northern cities as well. It's mainly because we used to pay attention to the over ground construction but not the underground ones. That's why we need to make amends⁷ for this part now. Only by fixing the problem can our cities truly be strong."

The heavy rain has subsided⁸ along the Yangtze River, but a new round of torrential rain is expected in the coming days.

For CRI, this is Fu Yu.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。

8 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》