美国国家公共电台 NPR Thousands Of Harvey Flood Victims Will Likely Need Long-Term Temporary Housing

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

One of the most difficult parts of disaster recovery can be finding housing. Tens of thousands of Texans left homes that were destroyed or too damaged to return to any time soon. NPR's Pam Fessler reports that government officials are trying to figure out where all these people will live in the months and even years ahead.

PAM FESSLER, BYLINE¹: Retiree Boyd Coble is one evacuee² who's eager to find out what happens next. He's been staying at a makeshift shelter run by a Houston mosque³ after sheriff's deputies insisted he leave his flooded home Tuesday morning. Coble was reluctant to go.

BOYD COBLE: I didn't want to leave my home behind. I have lived there for 30 years, never had water in the house. I want to be home.

FESSLER: But the prospects⁴ for that are bleak⁵. When Coble left, his floors had already buckled⁶. He said it was almost like they were floating. Former FEMA official Brad Gair estimates that tens of thousands of flood victims like Coble won't be going home anytime soon. Gair oversaw⁷ recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. As happy as he was this week to see so many people rescued, he also had another reaction.

BRAD GAIR: Most people are looking at it and saying, thank God, we've saved another family. I look at it and I say, oh, my God, there's another family that we're going to have to figure out how to find housing for and one more family that's starting off on a journey or more likely an ordeal⁸ that will go on for many years to come.

FESSLER: He says housing options are limited. It's estimated that at least a hundred thousand homes have been damaged by the floods, and that number is expected to rise.

GAIR: Nobody has the capacity to just all of a sudden build back tens of thousands of homes overnight.

FESSLER: So government officials are looking for alternatives. More than 45,000 people are still in emergency shelters, but plenty more are staying with family and friends and could soon need somewhere else more permanent to go. FEMA administrator⁹ Brock Long says the government's trying to move people as quickly as it can into hotels and rental¹⁰ units. But it's not clear how much space is available.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BROCK LONG: The next goal is save houses. You know, as the water starts to recede¹¹, we've got to go in. And this is where the volunteers need to be organized - is helping¹² people muck out their houses. Get the wet carpet. Get the wet drywall out. Make simple repairs.

FESSLER: Which is what Gair says they did after Superstorm Sandy, something called rapid repairs. This allows residents to return home relatively¹³ fast and stay there while more permanent, long-term repairs are being made. What no one wants to see is a re-emergence of fleets of travel trailers like those used to house Hurricane Katrina victims in some cases for years. Long says in this disaster, manufactured housing and mobile homes will be a last resort.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LONG: That is a long process. We don't just start dragging in manufactured homes and travel trailers right off the bat. They're not going to be on your property tomorrow by any means.

FESSLER: Still, he says, the government's starting to look into purchasing temporary homes. And the Texas Manufactured Housing Association is gearing up to help. Executive director D.J. Pendleton says his group's members are taking inventory¹⁴ right now to see how many units are available and how quickly they can ramp¹⁵ up production if needed.

D J PENDLETON: We're not exactly sure what we could be asked for, but we're trying to get organized. And with that, we're talking with our factories to figure out, you know, timelines, you know, supply chain, all of those types of things that would factor in.

FESSLER: But buying, setting up and maintaining such temporary homes can be costly¹⁶. Gair says as much as a quarter of a million dollars per unit. Still, the government might have little choice as people go home and assess the damage. FEMA administrator Long says he envisions one of the largest recovery housing missions the nation has ever seen. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 evacuee   

n.被疏散的人员，被撤走的人员

参考例句：

• A woman sits motionless at an evacuee center for leaked radiation from the damaged fukushima nuclear facilities friday march 25 2011 in soma fukushima prefecture japan.2011年3月25日星期五，日本福岛县相马市，为福岛核设施泄露而设立的避难中心里，一位妇女一动不动地坐在那里。
• Not quite true,said Tom,a 42-year-old evacuee.但汤姆，一位42岁的避难者，说事实不尽然如此。

3 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

4 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

7 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

8 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

9 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

10 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

15 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

16 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。