VOA标准英语2008年-Burma Cyclone Death Toll Surpasses 22,000; Huma

By Luis Ramirez
Bangkok
07 May 2008

 

International aid agencies are struggling to reach the hundreds of thousands of people in Burma who are without food and water following Saturday's devastating¹ cyclone².  The government says nearly 22,500 people are dead in the disaster and 41,000 others are missing.  VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia Bureau in Bangkok.

Government helicopters have dropped food and water to villages in Burma's hard-hit Irawaddy Delta³ area, where a storm surge that came with the cyclone wiped out entire towns.  State media say it was there where the vast majority of the victims perished.  Those who survived, have been waiting for help for days. 

James East, a spokesman for the international aid group World Vision in Bangkok, says reaching the neediest has been nearly impossible.

"One of the big challenges is that this area was in many ways flooded by this cyclonic⁴ surge so you're finding flooded roads," East explained. "You're finding trees that have come down, bridges that have collapsed⁵.  Staff say that in order to get into these very remote areas, you have to either walk, cross these riverlets by boat, or even swim."

Some aid workers have managed to get through.  The scale of the disaster is slowly becoming known from the reports they are sending back.  The World Food Program's Paul Risley says the news is getting grimmer by the hour.

"The initial reports from our assessment⁶ teams in the Delta region are truly, truly staggering," East said.  "It would appear that hundreds of thousands of people - if not more - lost their homes entirely⁷ due to the devastation⁸ of this cyclone."

Help has been slow to reach the victims because of the military government's apparent reluctance⁹ to accept international assistance.  Just hours before a cargo¹⁰ plane arrived from Bangladesh, loaded with high-energy biscuits for the victims,  the World Food Program had yet to receive permission to unload and distribute the food. 

Scores of aid workers who are badly needed to help with the distribution efforts have been on standby in Bangk ok, waiting for the Burmese authorities to grant them visas.  In the meantime, Risley says the staff working in Rangoon - also known as Yangon - are overextended.

"Since this disaster began, all of our Yangon-based staff have been working flat out," he said, "15-hour days and then going home to houses and families that don't have electricity, that don't have running water, that don't have phones. So, the work is very tough.  We need to bring in additional people."

Aid agencies say the military government has assured them their representatives will receive visas.  Burmese government officials have said they welcome humanitarian¹¹ aid, a rare gesture for the reclusive leadership which, in the past, has viewed foreign assistance as a threat to its control. Burma has been under the military's control since 1962.

Western governments are urging the Burmese junta¹² to allow in disaster assessment teams.   

President George Bush says the United States is ready to provide more than $3 million in aid and that the U.S. Navy is prepared to go in and help find the dead and missing.  American officials say at least three Navy ships are standing¹³ by off the coast of Thailand, waiting to be called.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

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 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 cyclonic   

adj.气旋的，飓风的

参考例句：

• The anticyclone weather situations are more favorable than the cyclonic ones. 反气旋天气情况比气旋天气情况更有利些。 来自辞典例句
• We studied the interaction between a typhoon and a cyclonic vortex. 研究一个台风涡旋和一个低压涡旋之间的相互作用。 来自互联网

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 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》

9 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

10 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

11 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。

12 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

13 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。