Hurricane, Typhoon Force Evacuations from Cuba to Vietnam

Hurricane, Typhoon Force Evacuations from Cuba to Vietnam

Powerful ocean storms that take place mainly in the western Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes. People in Vietnam and other Pacific countries call similar storms in the western Pacific Ocean typhoons. The weather events bring high winds, large waves and heavy rain. They also cause widespread destruction and displace¹ thousands.

Hurricane Ian

Early Tuesday, Hurricane Ian landed in Cuba's western city of Pinar del Rio where officials had set up shelters for 50,000 people.

In Havana's El Fanguito neighborhood near the Almendares River, health worker Abel Rodrigues and others gathered their belongings². He told the Associated Press, "I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ian's wind speed reached 205 kilometers per hour and the storm surge³ was as high as 4.3 meters along Cuba's coasts.

The storm is expected to strengthen even more over the warm waters of the Gulf⁴ of Mexico. The wind speed could reach 225 kilometers per hour when the hurricane makes landfall in the U.S. state of Florida late on Tuesday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said an estimated 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders. "When you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of," DeSantis said Tuesday. "And Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary⁵."

At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA moved its moon rocket from the launch area back into a large building for protection from the storm. And the airports in Tampa and St. Petersburg announced they would be closed Tuesday afternoon.

Typhoon Noru

In the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam, officials closed airports, set a curfew, and evacuated⁶ over 800,000 people near the coastlines on Tuesday. The order came as Typhoon Noru was crossing the South China Sea to hit Vietnam after leaving at least eight dead in the Philippines.

Officials said Noru is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday with a wind speed of 180 kilometers per hour. An official from the weather agency said, "The storm is so strong that we've started feeling the impact even when it has not made landfall yet."

The typhoon is expected to hit the central areas of Quang Ngai, where a major oil refinery⁷ is located, and Quang Nam, home to the World Heritage⁸ city of Hoi An.

About 270,000 military service members were placed on standby for emergencies. And Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told officials: "We don't have much time left. The storm is intensifying⁹ so our responses must be stronger and faster."

Noru was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year where it killed at least eight people when it made landfall on Sunday night. Among the dead were five government workers who drowned while trying to rescue villagers.

The typhoon flooded farmland and communities and damaged an estimated $21 million of crops, mainly rice. Nearly 80,000 people were moved to emergency shelters across the main Luzon Island, Philippine officials said. And local television broadcasts showed police cutting up fallen trees blocking roads and people removing wreckage¹⁰ with their hands.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. asked "Is this climate change?" in a meeting with emergency officials. "We have kept watch on these storms for a long time but it wasn't like this before... This is something I have to deal with," he added.

Words in This Story

surge – n. an abnormal¹¹ rise in the level of the sea along a coast caused by the onshore winds of a severe cyclone¹²

evacuation – n. the removal of people from a dangerous place for their safety

adversary - n. someone you are competing with, or arguing or fighting against.

landfall – n. the act of first seeing or reaching land from the sea

1 displace   

vt.取代，迫使...离开家园，使离开原位

参考例句：

• The extraordinary thing was that french did not displace English.奇特的是，法语没有取代英语。
• At present,obviously,nevertheless,he was not likely to displace himself.但时至今日，很清楚，他不可能再迁徙了。

2 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

3 surge   

n.汹涌，澎湃；vi.汹涌，强烈感到，飞涨；vt.放开，松手

参考例句：

• The surge travelled southwards along the coast.浪涛沿着海岸向南涌去。
• It failed to stimulate a surge of investment in industry.这没有能刺激工业投资的激增。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

8 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

9 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

10 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。

11 abnormal   

adj.反常的，不正常的，不规则的

参考例句：

• This warm weather is abnormal for February.二月里这种温暖的天气不太正常。
• That is simply abnormal.那简直是反常的。

12 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。