VOA慢速英语2017 Irma Weakens After Hard Hits on Caribbean, Florida（在线收听）

Irma Weakens After Hard Hits on Caribbean, Florida

Hurricane Irma has weakened to a tropical storm after causing widespread damage on Caribbean islands and the U.S. state of Florida.

飓风艾玛在加勒比海岛以及美国佛罗里达州造成大面积破坏之后，已经减弱为热带风暴。

Irma’s winds eased to about 100 kilometers per hour Monday as the storm continued to move on a northwest path, away from Florida. The ocean storm had been the strongest kind of hurricane – a Category 5 – as it moved through the Caribbean area last week. The storm’s wind speeds were measured near 300 kilometers per hour at one time.

周一飓风艾玛离开佛罗里达州继续向西北方向移动时，其风力已经减弱到大约100公里每小时。上周这场海洋风暴通过加勒比地区时还是最强烈的飓风，风暴强度达到了五级。这场风暴一度测得了近300公里每小时的风速。

Weather officials warn that Irma is expected to keep producing high winds and heavy rain, although it has weakened.

气象官员警告称，虽然风力已经减弱，但是预计艾玛还是会造成狂风暴雨。

Officials in Florida were getting their first look at storm damage in some areas Monday. Irma first hit the islands called the Florida Keys early Sunday, when the storm was at its greatest strength.

周一，佛罗里达州官员首次到部分地区查看风暴损失。艾玛周日早上风力最强的时候先是袭击了佛罗里达群岛。

Later Sunday, the storm struck Tampa and St. Petersburg, the two largest cities around Tampa Bay on Florida’s western coast. A storm surge near those cities caused high ocean waves to flood streets and homes.

周日晚些时候，这场风暴袭击了佛罗里达州西部海岸坦帕湾附近两座最大的城市坦帕市和圣彼得堡市。这些城市附近的风暴潮引发的惊天巨浪造成了街道和住宅被淹。

Severe flooding was reported in many other cities and towns along Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coastline. Flooding also was reported in Jacksonville on Florida’s eastern Atlantic coast. The storm damaged power lines and some building cranes.

佛罗里达州墨西哥湾海岸沿线的许多城镇都报告了严重的水灾。佛罗里达州大西洋东海岸的杰克逊维尔市也报告了水灾。风暴损坏了电力线和一些建筑塔吊。

About 6.5 million homes and businesses remained without power across Florida, and officials said it could be weeks before power is restored in all places. An estimated 220,000 people were staying in shelters.

佛罗里达州各地大约还有650万户居民和企业停电。官员称，恢复所有地区的电力可能还需要数周时间。预计有22万人居住在庇护所。

Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Twitter he was joining members of the U.S. Coast Guard to view damage from Irma in the Florida Keys.

佛罗里达州州长斯科特在推特上表示，他和美国海岸警卫队成员一起查看了佛罗里达群岛在飓风艾玛中的受损情况。

No deaths in Florida were immediately linked to the storm. Before hitting Florida, Irma left at least 34 people dead in several island nations.

佛罗里达州没有发生与风暴密切相关的死亡事件。飓风艾玛在袭击佛罗里达州之前，已经在几个岛国造成了34人死亡。

Ten of those deaths were in Cuba, where severe flooding was reported in several neighborhoods in central Havana. State media reported about 1 million people were evacuated from high-risk flood areas.

死者中有10人住在古巴，哈瓦那中部的几个社区报告了严重的水灾。古巴国家媒体报道称，大约有1百万人撤离了高风险的洪灾地区。

In the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said 95 percent of buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged.

在安提瓜和巴布达这个岛国，该国总理加斯顿·布朗（Gaston Browne）表示，95%的建筑要么被毁，要么严重受损。

The small French island of St. Barthelemy and the French-Dutch island divided between St. Martin and St. Maarten also were badly damaged. The U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos also suffered damage.

属于法国的圣巴托勒米岛以及分属法国和荷兰的圣马丁岛也遭受了严重破坏。美属维尔京群岛、波多黎各、多米尼加共和国、海地以及特克斯和凯科斯也遭受了损失。

Officials in the Caribbean area are working to help residents reporting shortages of food, water and medicine.

加勒比地区的官员正在努力帮助上报缺乏食物、水和药品的居民。

In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, more than one million people were left without power after the storm. The U.S. military deployed Navy ships and aircraft and hundreds of Marines to help with recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

在美国领地波多黎各，超过1百万人在风暴之后失去了电力供应。美国军方部署了海军舰艇和飞机，以及数百名海军陆战队员帮助波多黎各以及美属维尔京群岛进行恢复重建工作。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

storm surge – n. rising of the sea level as a result of weather activity during a storm

crane – n. big machine with a long arm used during construction

evacuate – v. to remove people from a dangerous area