美国有线新闻 CNN 四级飓风埃塔肆虐中美洲

OK, another story making headlines today — Hurricane Eta. A very powerful category four storm made landfall in the Central American nation of Nicaragua on Tuesday. This is what it looked like as it approached the coast.

好，今天又有一则头条新闻——飓风“埃塔”。周二，一场四级强风暴在中美洲国家尼加拉瓜登陆。这是其接近海岸线时的情况。

Hurricane Eta was a relatively¹ slow-moving storm that could bring the worst flooding Nicaragua had seen since Hurricane Mitch struck there in 1998. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says deadly conditions could remain in the region for days because Eta's rains could cause landslides², river flooding and flash flooding which can occur within a few hours of heavy rainfall.

飓风“埃塔”的移动相对缓慢，可能会引发自1998年飓风“米奇”袭击尼加拉瓜以来最严重的洪水。美国国家飓风中心表示，该地区的致命情况可能会持续数天，因为“埃塔”带来降雨后的几个小时内，可能会引发山体滑坡、河水泛滥和山洪暴发等灾害。

Nicaragua is the poorest nation in Central America, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It estimates almost 30 percent of Nicaraguans live below the poverty line. A Catholic priest who lives in the coastal³ city of Puerto Cabezas says some houses there are made of wood and adobe⁴, a type of clay. He told the "Reuters" news agency, that's the city's main weakness.

根据美国中央情报局的数据，尼加拉瓜是中美洲最贫穷的国家。据估计，近30%的尼加拉瓜人生活在贫困线以下。一位住在沿海城市卡贝萨斯的天主教牧师说，那里有些房子是用木头和土坯（一种粘土）建造的。他对路透社表示，这是这座城市的主要弱点。

Even before Hurricane Eta hit, roofs were reportedly being ripped off homes. Puerto Cabezas had lost power and its storm shelters were filled up.

据报道，甚至在飓风“埃塔”来袭之前，房屋的屋顶就已被掀掉。卡贝萨斯已经断电，避难所也人满为患。

Besides its wind speeds of around 145 miles per hour, the storm was predicted to bring a major storm surge, a rise in seawater levels blown ashore⁵ by a hurricane. Forecasters said they could be as much as 21 feet higher than then normal tide, so their affects could be catastrophic for coastal Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras.

除了风速约为每小时145英里外，这场风暴还将带来特大风暴潮，即飓风引发的海水水位上升。气象预报员说，潮位可能比正常潮位高出21英尺，因此其可能对沿海的尼加拉瓜和邻国洪都拉斯造成灾难性影响。

Hurricane Eta is the 28th named storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season. That ties the record set in 2005. Weather agencies counted 27 storms that year, but the National Hurricane Center decided⁶ that after the 2005 season was over, there was a 28th storm that should have been named but wasn't. So, this officially ties the 28 storms named in 2005.

飓风“埃塔”是今年大西洋飓风季第28个被命名的风暴。这与2005年创下的纪录持平。气象机构统计，2005年有27场风暴，但国家飓风中心认为，2005年飓风季结束后，第28场风暴也应该被命名。因此，这与2005年28场命名风暴的官方数据相持平。

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 adobe   

n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司

参考例句：

• They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
• Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。

5 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。