Tropical Storm Frances Hits Northwest Florida

By Jim Teeple

After crossing the Florida peninsula and coastal¹ portions of the Gulf² of Mexico, Tropical Storm Frances struck the Florida panhandle. Frances, an extremely slow-moving storm caused heavy flooding and at least two deaths in Florida. The storm also caused several deaths in the Bahamas. Initial damage estimates indicate that Frances did not cause the sort of damage that Hurricane Charley inflicted³ last month in parts of southwest Florida.

The storm system known as Frances moved into the southeastern United States after drenching⁴ Florida with more than 30 centimeters of rain.

Heavy winds associated with the storm brought down trees and power lines as the storm moved in from the Atlantic Ocean and across the state. Cragin Mosteller a spokesperson for Florida's Department of Emergency Operations says Frances left so much debris⁵ in its path, that Floridians should exercise caution before leaving their shelters.

"Well right now our top priority is making sure that residents and people know they should stay where they are," she said. "We have many people evacuated⁶ to other states and throughout our state and we are working to clear the roads and make it safe for them, but at this point it is not. The majority of casualties happen following a storm, not during a storm, and so we are asking people to stay in place and stay safe. Stay out of standing⁷ water that can have downed power lines or sharp debris."

Frances took several days to reach Florida and more than 80,000 people spent several days in shelters, first waiting for the storm to arrive, and then waiting for it to pass. Typical of many was one man who told a television interviewer of his frustration⁸ waiting in a shelter for several days.

"It is just becoming a hassle, with work and my schedule being ruined by the storm," he said. "Plans get canceled and it just gets in the way."

Frances was the second major hurricane to strike Florida in less than a month, but it did not cause the sort of catastrophic damage that Hurricane Charley inflicted on parts of southwest Florida in August.

After Frances struck, President Bush declared Florida a disaster area, making storm-hit residents eligible⁹ for federal aid. About 8,000 Florida National Guard troops have been mobilized to assist in recovery efforts and prevent looting.
More than one million Floridians are without power, and authorities say it will be days before power is restored to some areas. Cragin Mosteller of Florida's Department of Emergency Operations says Floridans are focusing on recovering from both hurricanes.

"You know the storms were different," she said. "Frances moved very slowly, and Charley moved a little bit more quickly. Right now we are focusing on recovery efforts from both storms."

Floridans are also keeping an eye on the Caribbean where Hurricane Ivan is now threatening the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Forecasters say Ivan could follow the path of Frances and threaten The Bahamas and Florida by the end of the week.

注释:
peninsula 半岛
coastal 沿海的
estimate 估计
hurricane 飓风
drench 湿透
caution 小心
priority 优先权
inflict 造成
Caribbean 加勒比海
Bahamas 巴哈马群岛

1 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。

2 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。

3 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

4 drenching   

n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• A black cloudburst was drenching Siena at midday. 中午，一场天昏地暗的暴风雨在锡耶纳上空倒下来。 来自辞典例句
• A drenching rain poured down and the rising hurricane drove it in sheets along the ground. 一阵倾盆大雨泼下来了，越来越大的狂风把它顺着地面刮成了一片一片的雨幕。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

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 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。