VOA常速英语2007年-Schools Have Frontline Role to Combat Disasters

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
20 November 2007

Experts involved in a two-year program on disaster mitigation run by United Nations and other bodies aim to raise awareness¹ at schools about the dangers of natural disasters, and how to react when disasters strike to save lives. Ron Corben reports from Bangkok that the recent Bangladesh cyclone² highlighted the importance of schools in saving lives in disaster-prone regions of Asia.

The warnings went out last week as cyclone Sidr bore down on Bangladesh. Thousands died in the disaster, but experts believe the toll³ would have been much higher if Bangladesh had not been actively⁴ preparing communities for disaster. A key battleground has been the schools.

Promoting the use of schools is central to the disaster mitigation programs of the United Nations' International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, International Federation⁵ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and other bodies.

At recent disaster management conferences in Thailand and India, participants stressed the use of education to prepare, prevent and then deal with disasters.

In Bangladesh, lessons were learned from disasters in the past. Mohammad Fazlul Quader, a headmaster from Anowara, in Chittagong, Bangladesh's port area, says his school supports local communities whenever warnings are raised.

"We open our school for the community with the help of cyclone preparedness program volunteers, we evacuate⁶ people to cyclone shelters where the necessary facilities, drinking water, sanitation⁷, cooking in the shelters. We take special care of women and children," he said.

The school runs cyclone preparedness programs. Fazlul says the drills and evacuation exercises are "very effective".

A student from the same school, Saddam Hossan, says he and fellow students have been trained in tsunami⁸ and cyclone awareness.

"We have learned a lot about cyclone warnings and what to do in case of a cyclone warning," said Hossan. "In the last week of September this year at nighttime we had an announcement that tsunami waves were coming from the sea. I along with my brothers and sisters and parents immediately took shelter in our high school building which is a disaster shelter as well."

Roditha Hidago, a Filipino high school teacher from Legazpi City hit by a typhoon in 2006, remembers it well.

"Having experienced Nature's wrath⁹, four typhoons in a row, a lingering volcanic¹⁰ eruption¹¹ and a mud flood, I cannot but cry to express my feeling," said Hidago. "How can I forget November 30, 2006, when the super typhoon Reming struck the province of Albay? Wind, water and earth combined to wipe out entire villages."

Hidago, her husband and children survived thanks to help from a neighbor whose house was strong enough to withstand the ferocious¹² winds. She believes awareness can save lives.

"We can evade¹³ from a disaster if we are aware of the hazards and risks of it," she said. "If we're prepared and have full knowledge and the basic steps on what to do before, during and after a calamity¹⁴."

Knowledge of a threat is not enough however, as people in the ancient Iranian city of Bam found in December 2003.

An earthquake killed about 43,000 people. Many had ignored early warnings and died in their sleep.

Nazarnina Ramazansadair, a student from Bam, lost her father in the quake. She says people ignored the initial quakes despite earthquake awareness programs at school.

"I don't forget those earthquake maneuvers¹⁵ which were conducted at schools, but they were not taken seriously by the teachers and students," she said. "For some students they were just a laughing matter."

Mansoor Sadeghizadeh, a teacher from Bam, said many in the community simply ignored the dangers, at great cost.

"Lack of awareness and lack of accepting reality in spite of experiencing three pre-shakes at night, people and students have not left their houses. This is a question mark and the houses, clay or normal brick, again they stay in their houses. Why? What does it prove? It means that awareness is very low. People are not aware. People have not accepted natural hazard," said Sadeghizadeh.

Raman Letchumanan, head of environment and disaster management at the Association of South East Asian Nations insists education is necessary.

"Disaster risk reduction is a major global concern. We need to make use of the power of knowledge and education to build vigilance of our local communities," said Letchumanan. "Educating children at school will not only help them to be better prepared to face hazards but they could also be an effective agent to create awareness among adults, families, and their communities."

Disaster relief organizations recognize that being prepared can reduce the loss of life. They are keen to build on the use of schools in vulnerable areas to further limit death tolls¹⁶ and to help communities rebuild after disaster has struck.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

5 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

6 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

7 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

8 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。

9 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

10 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

11 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

12 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

13 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

14 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

15 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

16 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。