PBS高端访谈:大规模龙卷风袭击俄克拉荷马城郊区

 　　JEFFREY BROWN:Disaster struck the Oklahoma City area this afternoon for the second time in two days. An enormous tornado¹ blasted whole neighborhoods in the suburb of Moore and left little but shredded² wreckage³ in its wake. There was no immediate⁴ word on casualties.

　　NewsHour correspondent Kwame Holman begins our report.

　　KWAME HOLMAN:The image of the huge twister filled the TV screen, as it bulldozed farmland and subdivisions and flashes from exploding transformers dotted the blue-black horizon.

　　MAN:Oh, there's a huge flash right there. It is just ripping up everything in its path.

　　KWAME HOLMAN:In Oklahoma City, state lawmakers and employees alike quickly made their way to a basement shelter. Some 35 to 40 minutes later, the great cloud finally spent its fury and disintegrated⁵.

　　In its wake, mile after mile of devastation⁶ south and southwest of Oklahoma City proper -- scores of homes and other buildings had been leveled, including an elementary school. Cars and trucks were smashed together on highways.

　　MAN:Oh, my gosh. I don't know if people lived in that one.

　　KWAME HOLMAN:And fires burned out of control. Part of a major interstate highway was shut down.

　　The suburb of Moore also was hit hard by a tornado in 1999, and today's storm came less than 24 hours after another tornado struck in the Oklahoma City area.

　　MAN:I had to stop because the winds were pushing my truck, and I had to slow down to about 10 miles an hour. And I was texting actually the lady I work with, and I told her, man, these are the craziest winds I have ever seen.

　　KWAME HOLMAN:Sunday's twister touched down outside Shawnee, killing⁷ two elderly men and injuring more than 30 people. Other twisters touched down Sunday in Kansas and Iowa.

　　WOMAN:We jumped up and ran into the shed. And once we got the door shut, we heard the roof take off.

　　KWAME HOLMAN:All of this came less than a week after twisters pummeled Texas, killing six people in the small city of Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Moments ago, I spoke⁸ by phone with Sgt. Gary Knight⁹ of the Oklahoma City Police Department.

　　Sgt. Knight, welcome.

　　What can you tell us at this point about the extent of the damage?

　　MASTER SGT. GARY KNIGHT, Oklahoma City Police Department: Well, there's areas of south Oklahoma City and Moore that have suffered total destruction or extreme devastation.

　　Moore sits on the south end of Oklahoma City. They sit adjacent to each other. And the tornado traveled through Moore and then moved northeasterly into southern Oklahoma City. There's a two- or three-mile area where there was just utter devastation. I don't have any numbers on injured people or if there are fatalities¹⁰ involved in this.

　　Our workers are still trying to get to many people who are trapped in those areas. Really, our message for the public is, for anybody in that area, please stay off the roadways. Stay out of the areas to let emergency workers in. I know they're having difficulty getting around everybody, plus getting around all of the debris¹¹ that's in the roadway.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:I understand you don't have any sense of fatalities or injuries at this point, but do you have a sense of how many people—were there a lot of people in the path of the tornado?

　　GARY KNIGHT:There were numerous neighborhoods in the path of the tornado that were just completely leveled. So that's certainly something that we're trying to address and get into those places, just as the Moore police and all the first-responders in that area are trying to get in there and do everything they can to assist anyone who is trapped or injured.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Do you know how much warning people had?

　　GARY KNIGHT:There was a good amount of warning. The local television stations here—I mean, obviously, they're very good at tornado forecasting, being in this part of the country.

　　But they were covering the tornado as it came down out of the sky, and were letting people know as soon as possible. I know the tornado sirens were sounding, but it was a very fast-developing storm, a fast-developing tornado. And, unfortunately, it moved through a heavily populated area.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Well, that's what I was going to ask you, just to describe the area a little bit more, heavily populated. You referred to various neighborhoods. So this is a suburban¹² area where—homes, schools, everything, right?

　　GARY KNIGHT:Well, it would have been a suburban area.

　　There are some businesses that were struck. It crossed I-35 and it's to the areas just east of Interstate 35 that would have been hardest-hit. There are some businesses along I-35 that were struck. And then you move into neighborhoods where there was at least one school, one elementary school that was struck and suffered severe damage to it.

　　I don't have any numbers again on injured, but mostly neighborhoods. There were some businesses, but mostly neighborhoods that were just flat-out leveled.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right. So most important for you right now is, as you said, get people—people stay off the street. What else?

　　GARY KNIGHT:Let the emergency workers in to do what they need to do to help get these people—help get these people some help.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And one more question. Was there a medical center also? There are some reports that a medical center was hit as well.

　　GARY KNIGHT:I don't have any information on a medical center being hit, although there is one very close to that area.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right.

　　Sgt. Gary Knight in Oklahoma City, thanks so much.

　　GARY KNIGHT:You bet. Thank you.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And more now from Bill Bunting of NOAA's National Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. He's a meteorologist and the operations chief there.

　　Well, thanks for joining us.

　　I'm not sure if you could hear that last interview. What can you add to the extent of the damage now? What are you seeing?

　　BILL BUNTING, Storm Prediction Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric¹³ Administration: Well, I haven't seen the most recent damage images, although, just from what I have heard, it sounds absolutely catastrophic.

　　I think the message I would want to get out is for folks that are in the path of storms that are still ongoing¹⁴, take these warnings extremely seriously. Folks in this part of the country typically know that severe weather season is here and that they need to have a plan. Now is the time to put that plan into action.

　　If you're in the path of these storms, the seconds that you take now to put your tornado readiness plan into action could very well make the difference between life and death.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:What about the enormous size of this tornado? How unusual is that, and what would cause it?

　　BILL BUNTING:Most tornadoes¹⁵ typically are much smaller than this.

　　This is obviously towards the upper end of the enhanced Fujita scale that we use to rate them. When conditions come together just right, the change in wind speed and direction, with height, the amount of instability in the atmosphere, you can get these tremendous concentrations of energy, unfortunately, seeing tornadoes that are the size of what we have seen today. And, unfortunately, our worst fears have become realized, hitting highly populated areas.

　　And we just hope that folks heeded¹⁶ the warnings and were in a safe place when the storms hit.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And because you have had so many tornadoes in the area in the last couple of days, do you know, in this case, one huge tornado, or do we even know if there were other tornadoes along with it or going along at the same time?

　　BILL BUNTING:We don't know for sure.

　　Typically, the local and National Weather Service offices will go out tomorrow or as soon as they can get into the area. Obviously, rescue and recovery operations takes precedence, but they will be out as soon as they can and do an accurate assessment¹⁷ of just how many storms, the path, length and width and the intensities¹⁸ involved, but, at this point, way soon to speculate.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And, as to the warning, is it your sense that people did have fair warning, at least for this very large one that came through?

　　BILL BUNTING:Well, the Storm Prediction Center, the National Weather Service offices and the areas affected¹⁹ have been talking about the risk for tornadoes now for several days.

　　We mentioned that it was going to be a multi-day threat. And today, of course, was another one of those days. And it's not over after today. The threat will shift a bit eastward²⁰ tomorrow. And so I just hope and pray that they heard the warnings and that folks were in the safest place they could be, and they're OK.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:Just give us a sense of how this works, because people there are quite used to tornadoes. How much planning goes into something like this? How much preparation is for an event like this?

　　BILL BUNTING:Well, we have been talking about the threat of tornadoes at the Storm Prediction Center, the local National Weather Service offices that really interface²¹ with the communities and the local broadcast media.

　　Everyone knew this was going to be an active weekend and into the first part of this week. The day-after-day threat of severe weather I think has made everyone aware that the danger is high. Most events, often, at least, the tornado threat exists, and then things are quieter the next day. This is not unheard of, but it's a bit unusual that we would have consecutive²² days of very intense tornadoes in the same metropolitan²³ area.

　　And that is, of course, just going to make it more difficult for the rescue and recovery operations that are now under way in several areas.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:And we're seeing reports of 200-mile-an-hour winds. How about—how unusual is that?

　　BILL BUNTING:Well, that's certainly extremely rare. And, again, the actual assessments²⁴ will take place in the days ahead.

　　But it's a very small percentage of all tornadoes with wind speeds in that range. So this is a very rare event and, unfortunately, in a very populated area.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right, Bill Bunting of NOAA, thank you very much.

　　BILL BUNTING:Thank you.

1 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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》

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

10 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

12 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

13 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。

14 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

15 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

16 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

18 intensities   

n.强烈( intensity的名词复数 )；（感情的）强烈程度；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• At very high intensities, nuclear radiations cause itching and tingling of the skin. 当核辐射强度很高时，它能使皮肤感到发痒和刺痛。 来自辞典例句
• They ask again and again in a variety of ways and intensities. 他们会以不同的方式和强度来不停地问，直到他得到自己想要的答案为止。 来自互联网

19 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

20 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

21 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

22 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

23 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

24 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句