The United Nations and international aid agencies are ramping up their assistance to earthquake victims in Haiti. But, they report the extent of devastation caused by the powerful quake is hampering their relief efforts.
联合国和国际援助机构正加紧向海地的地震受难者提供援助。但是，他们报告说，强烈地震造成的灾害程度阻碍着他们的救援努力。
Haiti is prone to disasters, but this huge quake is the worst to hit the Caribbean island state in two centuries. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday destroyed much of the country's capital, Port-au-Prince.
海地经常受到灾害的威胁，但是这次大地震是两个世纪以来袭击这个加勒比岛国的最严重的一次。星期二发生的里氏7.0级地震给海地首都太子港带来严重破坏。
The International Red Cross fears up to three million people may have been affected by the earthquake, which not only devastated the capital city, but many smaller nearby communities.
国际红十字会担心有多达300万人可能受到了地震的影响。这次地震不仅给首都带来毁灭性破坏，还央及附近很多其他较小的社区。
The United Nations reports electricity has been cut off and communications are difficult. It says bridges have been knocked out, hospitals and care facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Haiti's envoy to the United States estimates losses could run into the billions.
联合国的报告说，当地电力供应中断，通讯存在困难。报告说，桥梁被毁坏，医院和医疗设施也受到破坏或者被毁掉。海地驻美国的特使预计损失可能达到数十亿美元。
The World Food Program is leading the United Nations emergency operation in Haiti. The director of the WF office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, says the airport in Port-au-Prince is open. But, he says access to the town from the airport is limited because of debris and other obstacles on the roads.
世界粮食计划署主导联合国在海地的紧急救援行动。日内瓦的世界粮食计划署负责人文森特说，太子港的机场仍然开放。但是他表示，因为道路被废墟和其它障碍阻拦，从机场到城市的交通受到限制。
"The Dominican Republic, which … could be an important hub for us to bring relief material on behalf of the humanitarian community has not been damaged, so we can use the Dominican Republic assets. And, we are beefing up our teams on the other side of the border," he said.
“多米尼加共和国没有遭到破坏，那里可能成为我们一个重要的中转站，把人道组织的救援物资送进去，所以我们可以利用多米尼加共和国的资源。同时，我们也在边境的另一边增加救援力量。”
Vincent says there are about four million people concentrated in and around Port-au-Prince. So, it is extremely critical to get essential aid and relief supplies to the survivors.
文森特说，有大约400万人集中居住在太子港城和周边地区，所以把基本的救援物资带给幸存者是至关重要的。
He says WF has thousands of tons of food stocks in Haiti. So, he says WF can respond very quickly to food needs.
他说，世界粮食计划署在海地有几千吨的食物储备，所以他们能够快速对食品需求作出反应。
"We are also airlifting about 90 tons of food, of high energy biscuits from Panama to provide people that basically have no cooking material anymore. They are outside. They do not want to go back in, they can't go back in. So, the use of biscuits as a temporary measure is probably the best - it is the best way to respond to the food shortage, at least in the coming days and possibly weeks," he said.
“我们还从巴拿马空运了大约90吨高能饼干给当地居民，他们基本上没有烹饪材料，住在户外，不想回到房子里，也无法回到屋里。所以，用饼干作为临时性解决办法恐怕是最好的了，这是解决食品短缺的最好办法，至少在接下来的几天，也许可能是几周的时间里。”
The World Health Organization says it is deploying a 12-member team of health and logistics experts to Haiti. WHO says the control of communicable diseases, such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections, will be a major concern in coming days.
世界卫生组织表示正在向海地派遣一个由保健和后勤专家组成的12人小组。该组织说，控制传播性疾病，比如腹泻和呼吸道感染，将是今后几天里关注的主要问题。 |