One week after Rio storms, death toll hits 742

    RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- A week after storms devastated¹ part of Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, the death count reached 742, local authorities said Wednesday.
    According to the authorities, there are at least 200 people missing. At least 15 neighborhoods(社区) remain unreachable except by helicopters.
    A total of 21,500 people had to leave their homes because of the floods and the risk of new mudslides. Thousands of families had nowhere to go and are currently living in shelters set up in schools and clubs. Local governments are evacuating² residents from risk areas.
    It rained heavily in the damaged region on Tuesday, flooding several neighborhoods and making it difficult for rescue teams to work. The rain is expected to continue in the next days.
    The storms caused considerable damage to the production of vegetables in the state, and the fall in food supply has caused prices to rise in the state's capital city Rio.
    Some temporary bridges will be built by the army on the highways of the damaged towns. According to the local government, 52 bridges will be rebuilt in the area.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？