美国国家公共电台 NPR--In Kentucky, at least 8 people are dead after torrential rains flood Appalachia

In Kentucky, at least 8 people are dead after torrential rains flood Appalachia

Transcript¹

Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency after heavy rains and flash flooding led to massive damage in the eastern part of the state.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Intense rainfall lashed² parts of the West, Midwest and South this week. And forecasters say it's not done yet. Over the next several days, a system is expected to dump as much as 5 inches of rain from the desert to the mid-Atlantic. In Kentucky, torrential downpours led to deadly flooding in the eastern part of the commonwealth³. At least 15 people were killed. And Governor Andy Beshear says he expects that death toll⁴ to rise. Stan Ingold of member station WEKU has more.

STAN INGOLD, BYLINE⁵: It has been raining in eastern Kentucky all week. But heavy rainfall Wednesday night brought massive damage across much of the southeastern portion of the commonwealth. Roads have been washed out, schools flooded and homes knocked off their foundations. Boats have been needed to rescue many people in the area. On Thursday, Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ANDY BESHEAR: In a word, this event is devastating⁶. And I do believe it will end up being one of the most significant, deadly floods that we have had in Kentucky in at least a very long time.

INGOLD: The Kentucky National Guard has been activated⁷. And they'll get help from the Tennessee and West Virginia Guards as well. The governor said the commonwealth is working to find shelter for those whose homes have been destroyed or damaged.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BESHEAR: So anyone who's been displaced, three state parks have been open to receive you, even though they are having their own impacts.

INGOLD: In hard hit Clay County, Brian Jackson is the deputy director of the county's emergency management agency. On Thursday, his team had been working all day to reach and rescue their neighbors, many of whom were stranded⁸ at home by high water. He said the long hours were already catching⁹ up to first responders.

BRIAN JACKSON: Our swift water crews, our fire departments, our, you know, police and ambulance people have been out all night and all day. So you know, fatigue¹⁰ is starting to set in as well.

INGOLD: Flooding is not uncommon¹¹ for eastern Kentucky. But this much rain in this amount of time isn't typical, according to Alex Vorst. He's a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, which also saw flooding. He said that by Thursday afternoon, they had already seen up to 10 inches of rain.

ALEX VORST: This is very rare type of rainfall.

INGOLD: In Whitesburg, Ky., 18-year-old Zachary Caudill’s (ph) house is high enough that it didn't flood. But his town is mostly under water.

ZACHARY CAUDILL: It feels like, overnight, everything's been taken away from me.

INGOLD: He spent Thursday on the front lines of the relief efforts, bringing food and water to people and checking on neighbors. He said it's hard seeing his hometown in this state.

CAUDILL: Places where I've grown up and places where I've spent so much of my childhood at, and it's completely gone.

INGOLD: Emergency crews won't know the full extent of the damage until the waters have fully¹² receded¹³.

For NPR News, I'm Stan Ingold in Richmond, Ky.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

4 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。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 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。

7 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

8 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

9 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

10 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

11 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。