美国国家公共电台 NPR--More than 8,000 people in California were evacuated after a levee failed

More than 8,000 people in California were evacuated¹ after a levee failed

Transcript²

The levee breech in Monterey County triggered flooding and evacuations. NPR's Sacha Pfeifer talks to state Sen. John Laird about what must be done to prevent another catastrophe³.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

California is getting more rain today, a lot of it. Parts of the state already drenched⁴ from record-setting rain are now under flood warnings, and residents are bracing⁵ for another downpour. Here's Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto in a recent press conference.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TINA NIETO: Folks, we are not done yet. We are dealing⁶ with rain and wind events that I can only describe as a super soaker saturation⁷ event - #SuSoSat.

PFEIFFER: Rains are so heavy that one town on California's central coast, Pajaro, flooded over the weekend after a levee failed. More than 8,000 people were evacuated. John Laird is the state senator representing the area. He saw this coming, and he joins us now. And, Senator Laird, thank you for doing this very early, West Coast time, when I know you're dealing with a lot of other big issues. Thank you very much.

JOHN LAIRD: It's good to be with you.

PFEIFFER: I have been looking this morning at cellphone videos and TV footage and online images of people with sandbags, with cars submerged nearly to their hoods⁸. Give us a sense of what the people in your district are dealing with.

LAIRD: Well, we had nine atmospheric⁹ rivers in January, and it led to highway closures, mudslides, big waves, just extensive damage up and down the Central Coast.

PFEIFFER: You have been concerned for quite some time that this area was particularly vulnerable. You saw this coming. You tried to do something about it. Explain what you tried to do and how that has not come through.

LAIRD: Actually, we successfully did something, and that is this levee system for the Pajaro River that flows down this agricultural valley at the coast was built 70 years ago without enough capacity to handle major storms. It just was built too small. And we worked really hard to fund a brand-new project that had the capacity, and the federal government came through with the Army Corps¹⁰ of Engineers and the support of Senators Padilla, Feinstein and Congress member Panetta.

And I did a bill in the state legislature that bought the entire local share out because it's a disadvantaged community, and they couldn't pay for the local share of tens of millions of dollars. And then they did tax themselves for the operations. This project is ready to actually be built. It's in the final stages. It was going to start in a year. And when we had the ceremony with Senator Padilla and others last fall, I said a version of I hope to God it doesn't rain before we get this built. And unfortunately, it has.

PFEIFFER: So this was a race against time, and this community lost that race.

LAIRD: Exactly. And just - it is so tragic¹¹. There are just hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people out of their homes. Many of them have no place to go. Sirens came on in the middle of the night when the levee broke. They only have the clothes on their back and what they were able to reach and carry immediately as they left.

PFEIFFER: Is there some kind of support you're hoping to still get more of from the federal or state governments?

LAIRD: Well, we're hoping to get the support to patch and to handle the situation. And this levee break has grown to a couple hundred yards, and they're working hard to patch it. They're dropping rocks. They're doing everything else. And the levee is stressed below Pajaro now 'cause a huge lake of water has been created, dammed by Highway 1 in the area. And there's quite likelihood the levee is going to breach¹² in a second area and go back into the river. And we hope it's when the flows are low so it doesn't blow out the entire levee. So there is still some critical moments to pass in this crisis.

PFEIFFER: We hope that your hopes come true. Thank you very much for making time. This is California State Senator John Laird.

LAIRD: Thank you.

1 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

2 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。

3 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

4 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 saturation   

n.饱和(状态)；浸透

参考例句：

• The company's sales are now close to saturation in many western countries.这家公司的产品销售量在许多西方国家已接近饱和。
• Road traffic has reached saturation point.公路交通已达到饱和点。

8 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。