VOA慢速英语--美国最危险的地区在哪里?答案会让你惊讶

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, is responsible for preparing the United States for natural disasters.

One way the agency works to be prepared is by trying to predict where disasters might happen in the future.

The information FEMA gathers is calculated and put into a tool called the National Risk Index.

The index takes a look at natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, forest fires, tornadoes² and more. It also takes population and building density³ into consideration.

Out of over 3,000 counties in the U.S., Los Angeles County in southern California is the riskiest⁴ place to live. That is home to the city of Los Angeles.

The counties in the U.S. that are home to other large U.S. cities are risky⁵, too.

New York County, home to New York City, and Miami-Dade County in Florida have large populations, lots of buildings and homes and are close to water.

Cities that are close to water are generally considered risky due to flooding.

Other U.S. cities that have a high risk index are Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; and St. Louis, Missouri.

There are some places in the U.S. that are at high risk for natural disasters, but they do not rank as high on this list.

For example, Oklahoma County, in the state of Oklahoma, has seen over 120 tornadoes since 1950. However, FEMA says it is not as risky for tornadoes as some of the counties close to New York City. That is because if a tornado¹ were to hit near New York, it would cause more damage and affect more people than when they hit in Oklahoma.

Susan Cutter is the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. She worked on gathering⁶ some of the data used in the FEMA study.

She explained why densely⁷ populated counties are at risk.

"A small tornado can create a large dollar loss," she said.

Mike Grimm works for FEMA. He said one reason densely populated cities rank high on this list is because many of the residents would not be prepared for a disaster if it happened. They do not think their cities are at risk.

"Just because I haven't seen it in my lifetime doesn't mean it won't happen," Grimm said.

The list has its critics.

David Ropeik wrote a book called "How Risky Is It, Really?"

Ropeik said he did not think the FEMA study calculated the risk brought on by climate change well enough. He said people do not think things that happen infrequently are risky. But when they happen, they can cause a lot of damage.

He mentioned Superstorm Sandy, which flooded much of New York City in late October 2012.

Himanshu Grover researches land use and planning at the University of Washington. He studies how communities develop and how they manage climate change.

Grover said the FEMA tool was "a good start," but he did not think it paid enough attention to the frequency of a region's storms and disasters.

FEMA's Mike Grimm said the tool should help "homeowners and renters and communities to be more resilient."

Words in This Story

calculate- v. to get a general idea about the value of something

tornado- n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point

county- n. an area of a state or country that is larger than a city and has its own government to deal with local matters

hazard- n. a source of danger

vulnerability- n. the state of being open to attack, harm or damage

infrequent- adj. an act that does not happen often

1 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。

2 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

3 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

4 riskiest   

冒险的，危险的( risky的最高级 )

参考例句：

• With markets lately rising, the riskiest investments are finding takers. 他说，在周期高峰时，投资者会追逐风险最高的资产。
• The riskiest subprime securitieshave almost no takers. 风险最高的次级证券几乎没有人持有。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。