Typhoon lashes Japan on landfall

A typhoon(台风) has made landfall in Japan for the first time in two years, causing widespread disruption.

Two people have been killed and more than 40 injured in strong winds and heavy rains.

Typhoon Melor struck south-west of Tokyo on the main island of Honshu, flooding roads, uprooting¹ trees, and ripping roofs from houses.

Many flights and train services were suspended（暂停）, stranding² commuters in the morning rush-hour.

The car-maker Toyota halted production at factories in central Japan.

Flights cancelled

The typhoon made landfall on Japan's main island of Honshu shortly before dawn in Aichi prefecture, to the south-west of Tokyo.

 

Commuters in dark central Tokyo battle Typhoon Melor

Driving rain flooded roads, while strong winds ripped the roofs off houses and knocked over trucks on the highways.

A 69-year-old man was killed in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, by a large branch that was ripped（撕裂） from a tree by the strong winds.

In Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan a newspaper deliveryman died when his motorcycle hit a fallen tree.

Dozens more people were injured, many by wind-blown debris³ or broken glass.

More than 300 flights have been cancelled because of the storm, as have bullet train services.

In Tokyo overland train lines were temporarily suspended, stranding commuters in the busy morning rush hour.

Typhoon Melor is bringing gusts⁴ of wind of up to 198km/h (123 mph), cutting a swathe across densely⁵ populated central Japan.

It weakened slightly as it surged across the main island of Honshu, but "is still very dangerous," said Takeo Tanaka, a weather forecaster from the Meteorological Agency.

"Winds are violent and rain is torrential. You should also be on guard against mudslides（泥石流）," he said.

The agency warned that extensive areas in Japan, including Tokyo and the western industrial hub of Osaka, were at high risk of landslides⁶.

Typhoon season

Tens of thousands of households were without electricity in western Mie and central Gifu prefectures, while a blackout also hit 3,500 households in Tokyo and in neighbouring Kanagawa, power companies said.

Despite Japan's extensive（广泛） defences against floods and landslides, including storm surge barriers in coastal⁷ areas, western Japan was battered⁸ in October 2004 by Typhoon Tokage, which killed 95 people.

In August this year, Typhoon Etau brought flash floods and landslides that killed at least 25 people in Japan, even though it avoided a direct hit.

Another powerful storm, Ketsana, has caused devastation⁹ across Southeast Asia, killing¹⁰ hundreds of people, mostly in the Philippines and Vietnam.

In Taiwan more than 600 people died after Typhoon Morakot struck in August. （本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 uprooting   

n.倒根，挖除伐根v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的现在分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• He is hard at work uprooting wild grass in the field. 他正在田里辛苦地芟夷呢。 来自互联网
• A storm raged through the village, uprooting trees and flattening crops. 暴风雨袭击了村庄，拔起了树木，吹倒了庄稼。 来自互联网

2 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

3 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

4 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

5 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

6 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。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

9 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》

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。