United Nations aid agencies say they have been able to reach about one million survivors of Cyclone Nargis in Burma, also known as Myanmar, with aid. That is slightly more than 40 percent of those affected by the devastating storm, which killed nearly 80,000 people, with 56,000 still missing.
联合国救援机构说,他们已经将救援送到缅甸大约100万纳尔吉斯强热带风暴的幸存者手中。这相当于全部受到这场风灾影响灾民的40%多一点。这场强热带风暴造成近8万人死亡,5万6千人失踪。
The United Nations says it is planning to increase its humanitarian operation now that Burma's military rulers are granting more access to cyclone -affected areas.
联合国说,既然缅甸军政府允许救援人员更多地进入遭受强热带风暴影响的地区,联合国计划将增加对那里的人道援助。
Until now, U.N. Officials say most people who have received assistance live around Burma's main city of Rangoon. It says nearly 1.5 million people in the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta have not received any international aid.
联合国官员说,在此之前,收到援助物资的大部分灾民居住在缅甸主要城市仰光周围。联合国说,在受灾严重的伊洛瓦底江三角洲,将近有150万灾民还没有收到任何国际援助。
A spokeswoman for the UN Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, Elizabeth Byrs, says it will be difficult to reach them.
联合国人道援助协调厅发言人伊丽莎白.比尔斯说,要将援助送到这些人那里会很困难。
"In the Irrawaddy Delta, we have a logistical nightmare because of those hundreds of rivers, hundreds of small islands and...some places are only reachable by boat, inflatable boats," Byrs said. "So, it is a problem, major problem."
她说:“在伊洛瓦底江三角洲,由于那里数百条河流、数百个小岛星罗棋布,纵横交错,一些地方只能乘船和橡皮船才能进去,救援物资运送的困难可想而知。因此说,这是个问题,是个主要问题。”
Another problem is the monsoon. Byrs says it is critical to try to reach as many victims as possible before the roads become impassable when the monsoon season reaches its peak in a couple of weeks.
另外一个问题是雨季。比尔斯说,在雨季高峰在两个星期后来临之前,道路还能够通过的时候,设法将救援物资送到到更多的灾民那里,这一点至关重要。
But, she notes the United Nations has made plans for alternate forms of distributing aid.
但是她指出,联合国已制定出其它形式的分发救援物资的计划。
"We have already organized the delivery of assistance in order to rely more upon the boat delivery than truck delivery, of course," Byrs said. "And, of course, these nine helicopters, the WFP [World Food Program] helicopters, which are expected very soon.It will be a major step in the delivery of assistance."
她说:“当然我们已经组织运送救灾物资,更多地依靠船只运输,而不是卡车运输。当然,9架世界粮食计划署的直升飞机将很快抵达灾区,这对运送救援物资是个重大的步骤。”
Byrs says the U.N. has huge warehouses in Rangoon and Bangkok where they can store relief items. She says the so-called air bridge between Bangkok and Rangoon is working well with 10 to 15 humanitarian flights taking off every day.
比尔斯说,联合国在仰光和曼谷有巨大的仓库,能储藏救援物资。她说,所谓的曼谷和仰光之间的空中桥运转正常,每天有10至15次航班的人道救援飞机起飞。
The U.N. Children's Fund says it plans to move rapidly to assist tens of thousands of children and women who have been severely affected by the devastating storm.
联合国儿童基金会说,将迅速采取行动援助遭受风灾影响严重的数万名儿童和妇女。
UNICEF spokesman, Michael Klaus, says probably 20 to 30 additional international experts will be required to conduct rapid assessments of the needs in the Irrawaddy Delta.
联合国儿童基金会发言人克劳斯说,大概还需要20至30名国际专家来对伊洛瓦底江三角洲灾民的需求进行迅速的评估。
"We estimate that still around one million people have not been reached at all in the Irrawaddy Delta and since we estimate that roughly 40 percent of them are children, we can estimate some 400,000 children are not reached at all," Klaus said. "We know that hundreds of unaccompanied children have been seen and registered, including infants, children under two years of age, who need urgent support."
克劳斯说:“我们估计,在伊洛瓦底江三角洲还有大约100万灾民没有得到救援,而且我们估计其中大约40%的灾民是儿童,大约40万儿童还根本没有收到救援物资。我们知道,我们看到数以百计的父母不在身边的儿童,包括婴儿、两岁以下的儿童,他们迫切需要救援。”
Klaus says many of the children and women are homeless. They have lost their personal possessions and are exposed to many risks. He says the children are most in need of clean drinking water, sanitation, proper nutrition and shelter.
克劳斯说,很多儿童和妇女无家可归。他们失去了个人的物品,面临很大危险。她说,这些儿童大部分需要洁净的饮用水、卫生设施、适当的营养和遮风避日的住地。 |