Climate and disaster risk experts say the Asia Pacific region faces rising costs from storms and disasters often tied to climate change, creating new challenges for regions as they try to prepare and recover from such events. Warning comes as Thailand and the Philippines attempt to bounce back from recent disasters and the region gets ready to mark the seventh anniversary of the devastating 2004 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami.
气候和灾难风险专家说，亚太地区遭受着气候变化所造成的暴雨和其它灾难，该地区因此面临着越来越大的损失。在防灾和救灾过程中，亚太地区也面临着新的挑战。在泰国和菲律宾试图从最近的灾难中恢复的时候，整个地区已经在准备纪念2004年印尼地震和海啸7周年了。
The backhoe lifts piles of discarded rubbish left from flood-stricken homes and businesses in the Muang Ake community on the outskirts of Bangkok.
在曼谷近郊的一个社区，铲土机正从被水淹过的住宅和商家外铲走一堆堆的垃圾。
The community, in Pathum Thani province, was hard hit during the recent floods, with waters of up to two meters inundating the area for over six weeks.
巴吞他尼省的这个社区叫芒阿克，在最近的洪涝灾害中受灾最严重，这个地区被近两米深的雨水浸泡了6个星期。
On a drive through, the community is a scene of devastation. Furniture and wall panels lay discarded, as people go about cleaning up from the most severe floods in Thailand in over 50 years.
这个社区一片灾难景象。家具和墙板被冲到街上，人们正在逐步清理半个多世纪以来泰国遭受的最严重水灾带来的一片狼藉。
On Saturday, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra was reported to have declared that the flood waters have receded from the area.
星期六，有媒体报导说，曼谷市长素坤攀宣布，洪水已经从这一地区退去。
But for communities such as Muang Ake, recovery remains a distant goal, says Charun Likitrattanaporn, dean of agriculture at Rajamangala University of Technology campus at Muang Ake.
诗威猜拉差蒙坤技术大学农业系的主任差伦说，像芒阿克这样的社区从灾难中恢复将是一个遥远的目标。
"This, I think, is long term because we have to reorganize. Some parts are already totally damaged. So it will take one or two years to recover. Some [businesses] cannot open again because they have to invest again in furniture, equipment. I think they cannot come back. Some of them cannot come back," said Charun Likitrattanaporn.
他说：“这是一个长期任务。我们必须认识到这一点。因为一些地区已被彻底破坏，至少需要一两年时间才能恢复。有些生意从此停业，除非它们再度投资，添置家具和设备。我认为它们不会重新回到这里了，有些已经无力恢复生意了。”
Nationally, almost 800 lives were lost from Thailand's floods, with an economic toll close to $45 billion. A state economic think tank says one million people are now unemployed as thousands of small businesses and several industrial estates try to revive themselves.
泰国大水造成全国近800人丧生，经济损失近450亿美元。一个国有经济智库说，目前有100万人没有工作，数以千计的小企业以及几家大型工厂都在试图从残局中恢复过来。
The United Nations says the five months of floods across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam affected a population of up to 20 million people.
联合国说，泰国、柬埔寨、老挝以及越南持续5个月的洪水给多达2000万人口带来影响。
This week, the Philippine regions of Cagayan de Oro and Illigan are recovering from a tropical storm that officially left 1,000 dead, but with media reports putting the toll much higher. The United Nations says more than 300,000 people were displaced and are now dependent on outside emergency assistance.
本周，菲律宾的卡加延德奥罗以及伊利甘地区刚从一场热带风暴中逐渐恢复，官方数字显示，这次灾害造成1000人丧生，而媒体报导的死亡人数要高得多。联合国说，30多万人无家可归，目前他们的生活都要靠外界紧急援助。
These tragedies come as Asia prepares to mark the seventh anniversary on Monday of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The tragedy claimed over 230,000 lives across 14 countries, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.
目前亚洲在准备纪念2004年印度洋地震和海啸爆发7周年。那次灾难造成14个国家的23万人丧生，成为有史以来死亡人数最多的一次自然灾害。
Bhichit Rattakul, from the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, says despite lessons from 2004, the region remains ill-prepared to cope with natural disasters.
总部在曼谷的亚洲灾难防范中心的专家拉塔库尔说，尽管出现了2004年的惨重教训，该地区在对付自然灾害方面仍然缺乏准备。
"Asia prepared? The answer from my point of view is no. Even through some of the improvement has been going [on] for the last few years since the tsunami in 2004, but [there is] still a long way to go compared with the more violent situation into the future - climate change due to global warming," said Bhichit Rattakul.
他说：“亚洲已经严阵以待？我的观点是否定的。尽管2004年特大海啸以来最近几年出现了一些改进，但是在应对未来更大自然灾害以及全球变暖带来的气候变化方面，仍然有很长的路要走。”
The World Bank says the Asia Pacific region bears the brunt of natural disasters, accounting for 80 percent of lives lost globally. Economic losses from disasters are also rising exponentially as more infrastructure is affected.
世界银行说，亚太地区受到自然灾害的正面冲击，亚洲人员在全球人口中死亡人数占80%。天灾造成的经济损失也呈指数上升趋势，更多的基础设施受到影响。
The bank, in a recent report, warned the number of people likely to be exposed to natural disasters by 2050 will double to 1.5 billion people, with 200 million in India alone.
世界银行在最近一个报告中警告说，到2050年遭受灾害侵袭的人数要加倍增长，达到15亿人，仅印度一个国家受灾人数就将达两亿人之多。
Amit Jha, joint secretary of India's Natural Disaster Management Authority, says growing uncertainties arising from climate change means many nations may find past disaster mitigation measures inadequate.
印度自然灾害管理机构的高级官员说，因气候变化而出现了越来越多的不稳定因素，也显示很多国家可能会发现过去的抗灾手段远远不足。
"From the Indian point of view there's no definite point at which we can say that we are fully prepared because of the ferocity of disasters and the unpredictability is increasing," said Jha. "Therefore, the traditional preparedness measures which were adequate 10 or 20 years back do not seem so adequate now."
他说：“从印度的观点来看没有某项措施能让我们保证说可以足够抵御天灾，因为自然灾害的破坏性和不可预测性都在上升。因此传统的防范措施可以在过去10年到20年中发挥效力，而现在却不那么有效了。”
The World Bank, which is collaborating with the Indian government, says urban areas are vulnerable and has recommended building and maintaining sound infrastructure and public services as key steps to reduce the risks from future natural disasters.
正在和印度政府协作的世界银行说，城市地区容易遭受自然灾害侵袭，建议修建并保持良好的基础设施和公共服务项目，这些都是减少未来自然灾害风险的关键步骤。 |