VOA标准英语2011--Asia Pacific Region Faces Rising Costs From Storms, Disasters

Asia Pacific Region Faces Rising Costs From Storms, Disasters

 

Climate and disaster risk experts say the Asia Pacific region faces rising costs from storms and disasters often tied to climate change, creating new challenges for regions as they try to prepare and recover from such events. Warning comes as Thailand and the Philippines attempt to bounce back from recent disasters and the region gets ready to mark the seventh anniversary of the devastating¹ 2004 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami².

The backhoe lifts piles of discarded rubbish left from flood-stricken homes and businesses in the Muang Ake community on the outskirts³ of Bangkok.

The community, in Pathum Thani province, was hard hit during the recent floods, with waters of up to two meters inundating⁴ the area for over six weeks.

On a drive through, the community is a scene of devastation⁵. Furniture and wall panels lay discarded, as people go about cleaning up from the most severe floods in Thailand in over 50 years.

On Saturday, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra was reported to have declared that the flood waters have receded⁶ from the area.

A backhoe performs flood recovery work in Muang Ake, Bangkok.

But for communities such as Muang Ake, recovery remains⁷ a distant goal, says Charun Likitrattanaporn, dean of agriculture at Rajamangala University of Technology campus at Muang Ake.

"This, I think, is long term because we have to reorganize. Some parts are already totally damaged. So it will take one or two years to recover. Some [businesses] cannot open again because they have to invest again in furniture, equipment. I think they cannot come back. Some of them cannot come back," said Charun Likitrattanaporn.

Nationally, almost 800 lives were lost from Thailand's floods, with an economic toll⁸ close to $45 billion. A state economic think tank says one million people are now unemployed⁹ as thousands of small businesses and several industrial estates try to revive themselves.

The United Nations says the five months of floods across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam affected¹⁰ a population of up to 20 million people.

This week, the Philippine regions of Cagayan de Oro and Illigan are recovering from a tropical storm that officially left 1,000 dead, but with media reports putting the toll much higher. The United Nations says more than 300,000 people were displaced and are now dependent on outside emergency assistance.

These tragedies come as Asia prepares to mark the seventh anniversary on Monday of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The tragedy claimed over 230,000 lives across 14 countries, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.

Bhichit Rattakul, from the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, says despite lessons from 2004, the region remains ill-prepared to cope with natural disasters.

"Asia prepared? The answer from my point of view is no. Even through some of the improvement has been going [on] for the last few years since the tsunami in 2004, but [there is] still a long way to go compared with the more violent situation into the future - climate change due to global warming," said Bhichit Rattakul.

The World Bank says the Asia Pacific region bears the brunt of natural disasters, accounting¹¹ for 80 percent of lives lost globally. Economic losses from disasters are also rising exponentially as more infrastructure¹² is affected.

The bank, in a recent report, warned the number of people likely to be exposed to natural disasters by 2050 will double to 1.5 billion people, with 200 million in India alone.

Amit Jha, joint¹³ secretary of India's Natural Disaster Management Authority, says growing uncertainties¹⁴ arising from climate change means many nations may find past disaster mitigation measures inadequate¹⁵.

"From the Indian point of view there's no definite point at which we can say that we are fully¹⁶ prepared because of the ferocity of disasters and the unpredictability is increasing," said Jha. "Therefore, the traditional preparedness measures which were adequate 10 or 20 years back do not seem so adequate now."

The World Bank, which is collaborating¹⁷ with the Indian government, says urban areas are vulnerable and has recommended building and maintaining sound infrastructure and public services as key steps to reduce the risks from future natural disasters.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 inundating   

v.淹没( inundate的现在分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• Floodwaters are inundating states up and down the Eastern Seaboard. 洪水淹没了东部沿海各州。 来自互联网
• Their invasion of the city effecttidal wave inundating first the immigrant colonies. 他们的涌入城市，象潮头一样首先淹没了移民地带。 来自互联网

5 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》

6 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 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。

11 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

15 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。