VOA慢速英语--孟加拉国难民营遭遇致命洪水和山体滑坡

Heavy rains have fallen for days on Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh. The floods have destroyed houses and sent thousands of people to live with relatives or in large shelters.

In a 24 hour period this week, more than 30 centimeters of rain fell on the camps in the Cox's Bazar area. It is where more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees live, the United Nations refugee agency said. In one day, the area received more than half the usual monthly rainfall. There is a prediction of more heavy rain in the coming days. The monsoon¹ season of heavy rains stretches over the next three months.

The agency said the situation is even worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "There is currently a strict national lockdown in response to rising cases across the country," the agency said.

It said six people died in the camps earlier this week. Five people died in a landslide² caused by the rains and a child was carried away by floodwaters.

The U.N. High Commissioner³ for Refugees (UNHCR) said the heavy rain affected⁴ more than 12,000 refugees and it destroyed about 2,500 shelters. More than 5,000 refugees have temporarily moved into other family members' houses or community shelters, the agency said in a statement.

Hannah Macdonald, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, said in an email that emergency teams have moved into the camps to help.

Refugees said they were struggling to eat and drink properly. Khatija Begum is the mother of five children. She said, "Due to the continuous rainfall for the last four days, today my house is full of water. We are not even able to eat." Begum said she fears her children will drown and die in their sleep.

The refugee agency said the bad weather, landslides⁵ and floods have increased the suffering and humanitarian⁶ needs of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Cyclones⁸, heavy monsoon rains, floods, landslides and other natural dangers affect the camps every year. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017. That period marked the beginning of a military campaign in neighboring Myanmar against the Muslim ethnic⁹ group. The campaign followed an attack by rebels against Myanmar government forces. Myanmar is a Buddhist-majority country.

The campaign included rapes¹⁰, killings¹¹ and the burning of thousands of homes. Human rights groups and the United Nations called the campaign ethnic cleansing¹². While Bangladesh and Myanmar have tried to negotiate the return of the refugees, the Rohingya are too fearful to return home.

The International Organization for Migration¹³ says Cox's Bazar, where more than 1 million Rohingya refugees live, is likely to have more disasters.

Words in This Story

cyclone⁷ – n. an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm with very high winds that turn around an area of low pressure

strict –adj. describing a command, rule or something that must be obeyed

lockdown - n. a state of isolation¹⁴ or restricted access put in place as a security measure.

response – v. something done that is a reaction to something else; an answer or reply

1 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

2 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 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。

5 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

8 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

13 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

14 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。