冬季风暴袭击美国东南部

 　　冬季风暴袭击美国东南部

　　WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A new round of major winter storm is affecting the southeastern of the United States on Wednesday, bringing with it "dangerous ice and snow" and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and business without power.

　　The storm is expected to intensify¹ Wednesday evening as it moves up the Eastern Seaboard, affecting locations across the mid- Atlantic and Northeast," said the National Weather Service on Wednesday.

　　The agency said more than 2.5 cm of ice accumulation is possible from central Georgia into South Carolina through Thursday morning. The forecasters have also warned that the storm could be "a catastrophic event" of "historical proportions."

　　The winter storm has already knocked out power for more than 300,000 homes and businesses in the Southeast, including Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Among them, Georgia Power, the state's largest utility company, has reported more than 133,000 outages and warned that hundreds of thousands of customers could be without electricity for days.

　　More than 1600 Atlanta-based flights have been canceled for Wednesday.

　　Ice storm warnings and freezing rain advisories² are in effect across much of central Georgia. Atlanta, the state's capital and the country's 9th metropolitan³ area, was paralyzed in a winter storm after a snowfall of 6.6 cm on Jan. 28 and left highways gridlocked for over 20 hours. The state and local governments have been under criticism for the past two weeks and vowed⁴ to do better this time.

　　Georgia Governor Nathan Deal told CNN on Wednesday that the local authorities "are prepared" this time to brace⁵ the threats of the new round of winter storm.

　　"Ice is the biggest danger," he said, expecting more ice and snow to come. The governor and local officials have told local residents to stay at home and stay off icy roads.

　　Deal had declared a state of emergency for much of the state even before the new round of winter storm arrived. President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Georgia, making federal emergency aid available to the state.

　　The National Guard has opened 65 emergency shelters throughout the state.

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

3 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。