穷人是受自然灾害最严重的群体

In Natural Disasters the Poor Are Hardest Hit

穷人是受自然灾害最严重的群体

 

According to the World Bank, during the 1990’s, on average, about 50 people died per natural disaster in developed countries, compared to almost six hundred deaths per natural disaster in the developing world.

 

Mark Pelling: It’s certainly true that it’s not only the poor countries that are most hardly hit by natural disasters, but it’s the poor people within the countries that bear the brunt of the impact. Mark Pelling is the professor of Geography at King’s College of the University of London and author of the book The Vulnerability of Cities: Natural Disasters and Social Resilience.

 

He says the poor are especially vulnerable to natural hazards because of their inadequate¹ housing, fragile health and lack of back-up resources in case of emergencies. Professor Pelling says this was evident, for example, during the heavy rains in Venezuela in 1999.

 

Mark Pelling: There was a huge land slide along the coast, and Caracas was badly hit by this following rain fall. And those people who lost their lives and lost their homes were the informal dwellers² in the city who were living on the hill slopes. There were also some middle and high-income groups living on hill slopes, but their properties were properly designed to a higher standard at least and that meant there was less of an impact.

 

Developed countries are better prepared for natural disasters. The attractive west coast of the United States is prone³ to earthquakes, tsunamis⁵, forest fires and even volcano eruptions⁶. But that does not keep wealthy people from living there.

 

Jim Goltz is a planner at the Earthquake and tsunami⁴ Program of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in Pasadena, his office helps smaller local governments prepare people for these disasters.

 

Jim Goltz: Earthquakes are monitored generally by federal agencies like the US Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁷ Administration, and that information is centralized and processed and provided to agencies like mine.

 

California has well established warning systems and Mr. Goltz says they are not all that costly⁸. But natural disasters are not always predictable and it is important to know how to respond when they happen. 

 

Jim Goltz: More important than warning systems is having a population that’s aware of the risk of tsunamis, understands that when you feel an earthquake in a coastal⁹ area, it could be followed by a tsunami and that people should turn on radios and television and be aware of warnings that might be issued in connection with this.

 

In addition, California has strict building laws. Overall, says Mr. Goltz, it is cheaper to prepare for disasters than recover from them and wealthy countries could help the poor develop such programs. But analysts¹¹ note that international aid agencies are often more willing to send large aid after disasters strike than much smaller aid to help prevent huge losses.

 

Mark Pelling of the University of London says there are many reasons for that, some very prosaic¹².

 

Mark Pelling: It makes very good press and it’s very high visibility for governments to invest or spend money in humanitarian¹³ relief. It’s much less visible and you get much less political kudos¹⁴ for spending money over the long term in perhaps strengthening livelihoods¹⁵, or improving governance, or improving the physical structures in planning of a city.

 

The problem with humanitarian aid, says Mark Pelling, is that it helps in emergencies. It removes people from the immediate¹⁶ hazard, saves lives and provides food and shelters. But it does not improve the quality of life in the long run and can make populations even more vulnerable once the emergency is over.

 

Mark Pelling: There’s certainly no lack of practical knowledge on the ground. There is thirty years of academic argument that suggests that poverty alleviation¹⁷ and disaster-risk reduction will pay out in the end and it’s political will that’s lacking at the moment.

 

Ian Vasquez, an analyst¹⁰ at the Cato Institute in Washington, says economic growth is the best protection from natural disasters.

 

Ian Vasquez: It’s only through the sustained economic growth that poor people can be pulled out of the precarious¹⁸ living conditions and that can mean a matter of life and death even over the short term of ten years.

 

Hopes are high that the recent tragedy, which took some 150-thousand lives in South Asia, will prompt the developed world to make a more concerted effort to reduce poverty.

 

For focus, I’m Zlatica Hoke.

 

注释：

brunt [brQnt] n. 冲击，冲势

in case of adv. 假设，万一

Venezuela [7vene5zweilE] n. 委内瑞拉(南美洲北部国家)

Caracas [kE5rAkEs] n. 加拉加斯(委内瑞拉首都)

prosaic [prEu5zeiik] adj. 平凡的

kudos [5ku:dRs] n. 名望，荣誉，声誉

pay out v. 付出，报复

1 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。

2 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

4 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。

5 tsunamis   

n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our oceans are alive with earthquakes, volcanoes, and more recently, tsunamis. 海中充满着地震、火山，包括最近发生的海啸。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• Please tell me something more about tsunamis! 请您给我讲讲海啸吧！ 来自辞典例句

6 eruptions   

n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句

7 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 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。

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 prosaic   

adj.单调的，无趣的

参考例句：

• The truth is more prosaic.真相更加乏味。
• It was a prosaic description of the scene.这是对场景没有想象力的一个描述。

13 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

14 kudos   

n.荣誉，名声

参考例句：

• He received kudos from everyone on his performance.他的表演受到大家的称赞。
• It will acquire no kudos for translating its inner doubts into hesitation.如果由于内心疑虑不安而在行动上举棋不定，是得不到荣誉的。

15 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

17 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

18 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。