美国国家公共电台 NPR Record 'King Tides' Mean Months-Long Flooding In Florida Keys

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Climate change is making sea levels rise. That's become very clear this fall in some areas along the East Coast, where high tide levels are breaking records. In many areas, there's been flooding during so-called king tides - times when, because of the moon's gravitational pull, tides are higher than usual. NPR's Greg Allen reports from the Florida Keys, where for months, king tides and sea level rise have left a community flooded.

(SOUNDBITE OF WATER SLOSHING)

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE¹: To walk to Paul Butler's house, it's best to wear rubber boots.

PAUL BUTLER: Did you see the no wake sign?

ALLEN: The no wake signs are for drivers, not boaters. There are several inches of water on his street and others in this Key Largo² neighborhood. Butler has lived here 25 years and has seen this kind of flooding before.

BUTLER: It used to happen, like, once a year during king tide, but it would only last for, like, a week or 10 days. This year, it's been going on for about 75 days, I think.

ALLEN: Neighbors say it's been 80 days and counting. The water doesn't drain because there's nowhere for it to go. During king tide, another neighbor, Brian Boylan, says seawater overtops the canal in his backyard.

BRIAN BOYLAN: This is actually - this is the bay. It's even with the bay. You can see it coming right out of the ground. Sometimes, you can see it bubbling.

ALLEN: Needless to say, Boylan and other neighbors aren't happy that they're now surrounded by water. The biggest problem...

BOYLAN: Just driving through it. You know, you're ruining your vehicles. My truck's all rusty³ underneath⁴.

ALLEN: Because it's saltwater and corrosive⁵.

BOYLAN: It's saltwater, yeah. You know, we wash it off, but you can't get it, you know? The brakes will probably go.

ALLEN: Making things worse, the neighborhood was built on fill, and residents can point to areas where the ground has settled. But Boylan, who's lived here for 40 years, says it's clear another factor is rising sea level.

BOYLAN: Obviously, sea - it's going up because I can tell from my dock. When I built the dock - it's probably up about six inches higher than it used to be.

ALLEN: Not far away on Virginia Key, scientists are also charting the rising sea level.

BRIAN MCNOLDY: So there's actually two different kinds of tide gauges⁷ here.

ALLEN: One gauge⁶ in Miami belongs to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁸ Administration, or NOAA. It's just outside the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine⁹ and Atmospheric Science, where Brian McNoldy is a researcher. McNoldy has been monitoring this gauge and comparing it with historical records. He says for five months running, the average here has broken past tide records.

MCNOLDY: Right now we're running about eight to nine inches above them, but there have been times in recent weeks we've been up to 18 inches, and that definitely is impactful.

ALLEN: Increased flooding from high tides is a problem not just in Florida, but also in other low-lying coastal¹⁰ communities around the U.S. Boston, Charleston and Norfolk are just three cities that have seen flooding this year during exceptionally high king tides. William Sweet is an oceanographer with NOAA who released a report earlier this year warning of the increasing threat of high-tide flooding. He says unfortunately, the predictions are already coming true.

WILLIAM SWEET: And now sea level rise - decades worth of - it is caught up in these sort of garden-variety events. You know, seasonal¹¹ high tides, winds blowing offshore¹² that used to not be a problem are a problem.

ALLEN: Although it's a global issue, for now it's local governments that are faced with the challenge of addressing high-tide flooding. In Monroe County, home to the Florida Keys, local officials are hoping to get $150 million in federal funds - money that's supposed to help the area rebuild stronger after 2017's Hurricane Irma. They want to use it to raise roads and buildings and improve drainage. One of the projects would be in Paul Butler's long-flooded Key Largo neighborhood, but that will take years. In the meantime, he says, residents are making their own adjustments.

BUTLER: Well, it's kind of tough to go out walk your dog unless you have hip¹³ boots on. There is people that are going to work that won't drive their vehicles through here. And they park up to the grocery store up on U.S. 1, and they'll walk up.

ALLEN: Butler and other residents say if history is any guide, flooding should subside¹⁴ soon in their neighborhood, at least until the next king tide. Greg Allen, NPR News, Key Largo, Fla.

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 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

3 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

4 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

5 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 gauges   

n.规格( gauge的名词复数 )；厚度；宽度；标准尺寸v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的第三人称单数 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• A thermometer gauges the temperature. 温度计可测量温度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fuel gauges dropped swiftly. 燃料表指针迅速下降。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

12 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

13 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

14 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。