VOA新闻杂志2023--Hurricane Idalia Hits Florida with High Winds, Flooding

Hurricane Idalia Hits Florida with High Winds, Flooding

Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the west coast of the American state of Florida on Wednesday. Officials said the dangerous storm brought life-threatening storm surges and flooding to the area.

By early Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people reportedly were without electricity as strong winds brought down trees and power lines. Along the coast, some homes were underwater, and structures were crushed in the storm surge.

"We have multiple trees down, debris¹ in the roads, do not come," emergency officials in Cedar² Key said. They said most of the streets around the downtown area were underwater.

Idalia landed in a lightly populated area near Keaton Beach at 11:45 UTC. The Category 3 hurricane came with sustained wind speeds as high as 205 kilometers per hour. The National Weather Service places hurricanes into five groups depending on wind speed. The strongest level, a Category 5 hurricane, can reach sustained wind speeds of 252 kilometers an hour or higher.

People who live along Florida's northwest coast had been ordered to leave the area before Idalia's arrival. On Wednesday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis told those who have not left to stay inside until the storm passes. He said, "Don't put your life at risk."

A full moon could raise tides higher

As the hurricane continues, a rare full moon, called a supermoon, could cause tides to rise higher than normal along Florida's coast.

When the moon is full, the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction. This has the effect of increasing tides above normal, said Kerry Emanuel. He is an atmospheric³ scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The moon's gravitational pull is stronger when it is closer to the Earth, so the tides could be higher. Wednesday's supermoon is the closest to the Earth this year.

Brian Haines is head of the National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina. He said, "I would say the timing⁴ is pretty bad for this one."

The storm surge is often the most dangerous event when a hurricane strikes. The National Hurricane Center estimated on Tuesday that ocean water levels could increase by 4.6 meters along parts of Florida's west coast. Farther south, a storm surge of up to 2.1 meters is expected in the Tampa Bay area.

Hurricanes get their energy from warm water. Idalia is feeding from warm water around Florida.

Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach called the water temperature of 31-32 degrees "rocket fuel for the storm." He added, "It's basically all systems go for the storm to intensify⁵."

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented⁶ event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the area around Big Bend. The state of Florida, however, is still dealing⁷ with damage from Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, last year. Ian was responsible for almost 150 deaths and damaged 52,000 structures.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far more active because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through November, with most storms taking place in August and September.

Words in This Story

landfall –n. the act of reaching land after a long trip at sea

storm surge –n. an event in which high winds force water from the sea onto the land

debris –n. wreckage⁸ and broken pieces of things

sustained –adj. continuing for a period of time

tide –n. the regular upward and downward movement of sea levels in places caused by the moon and other influences

 

unprecedented –adj. describing something that has never happened before

1 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。

2 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。