2016年CRI Aids en route to Tornado-hit City; Death Toll Reaches 98

 

Parts of Yancheng city, close to China's eastern coast, were battered¹ by intense downpours, hailstorms and a tornado² Thursday afternoon, which destroyed buildings, trees, vehicles and electricity poles.

The village of Dalou in Funing County has been virtually flattened³, with some witnessing the collapse⁴ of their own homes.

"There was thunder, downpours and gales⁵. It was pitch dark. When I heard the wind blowing, I tried to go out, but I was blown back to a corner of the house."

That corner was the only place of the house that did not collapse.

Funing was the worst-hit area, where 28 thousand houses have either been damaged or collapsed⁶.

Wu Xiaodan is Vice⁷ Mayor of Yancheng City.

"So far 98 people have been confirmed dead while 846 people have been admitted to hospitals. In Funing County, 28,104 houses have either been damaged or collapsed. Buildings in two local schools were also damaged, as well as eight factory buildings."

The city of Yancheng has activated⁸ its highest response system following the extreme weather.

Search for those feared to be trapped under the debris⁹ has been completed, while clearing efforts are underway, involving thousands of police and military personnel.

Most telecommunications in the affected¹⁰ areas have now been restored.

However, in many areas, food, clothing and water are urgently needed.

Another priority is treating the seriously injured, most of whom were hit by falling debris.

The provincial¹¹ heath authorities have sent teams of doctors to Yancheng while efforts are underway to relieve the overwhelming number of patients at local hospitals.

"55 ambulances in Yancheng have been dispatched more than 300 times to transfer the victims to 33 medical institutions across the city. We've also set up a temporary command center to coordinate¹² the distribution of medical resources from the province. In addition to Yancheng, the cities of Nantong and Lianyungang are also on stand-by."

During his ongoing¹³ visit to Uzbekistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out rescue efforts, stressing that saving lives is the priority.

A State Council work group dispatched by Premier¹⁴ Li Keqiang has arrived in Yancheng to coordinate disaster relief.

Tornadoes¹⁵ occasionally hit eastern and southern China during the summer, but rarely with the scale of damage like the one in Yancheng.

A similar disaster hit the city in March 1966.

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

6 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 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。

9 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

12 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

15 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网