China launches emergency response to SW floods

 BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- China's central authorities initiated¹ a level-four emergency plan on Sunday afternoon in response to severe flooding in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry² of Civil Affairs have dispatched teams to help with the relief work.

Chongqing's municipal civil affairs authorities reported that over one million people in Chongqing have been affected³ by the disaster since Aug. 30. That includes one death, and some 149,000 have been evacuated⁴ or are in dire⁵ need of life assistance.

The flood had also caused the collapse⁶ of some 1,200 houses, damage to another 4,700, and 450 million yuan in direct economic losses (70.87 million U.S. dollars).

According to the Sichuan provincial⁷ civil affairs authority, the flood had had an impact on 1.583 million local people, left 12 dead and 15 missing. Some 174,000 had either been evacuated or in need of life assistance.

Also, a total of 16,000 houses in the province were toppled and 28,900 hectares of cropland damaged, resulting in direct economic losses of about 920 million yuan (144.9 million U.S.dollars).

Civil affairs authorities from both areas have acted to dispatch relief teams to the ground and distribute tents, quilts and other relief materials.

1 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 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。

4 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。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。