Cubans Prepare For Hurricane Ivan

By Jim Teeple

The center of Hurricane Ivan passed to the south of the Cayman Islands, and appears headed for a direct strike on Cuba. The storm has killed more than 50 people as it passes through the Caribbean. There are fears that it will cause major damage when it strikes Cuba sometime Monday.

Just as it spared Jamaica from catastrophic damage, Ivan spared The Caymans. The center of the storm passed about 80 kilometers south of Grand Cayman, uprooting¹ trees, and ripping off roofs. But Ivan did not bring the sort of devastating² destruction to The Caymans it brought to Grenada last week, where it destroyed more than 80 percent of the structures on the island.

Ivan is forecast to strike Cuba early Monday. The center of the storm is expected to pass over land, somewhere west of the capital Havana.

Michael Formosa, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami says Cubans should be prepared for the worst.

"The hurricane force winds extend 90 miles from the center," he said. "So, basically, so, right where the eye of the storm is, that is where the major destruction is going to be. Of course, the whole swath of Cuba that gets affected³ by Ivan will have catastrophic damage."

A hurricane watch is in effect for all of western Cuba. Cuban President Fidel Castro went on television as Ivan approached to say his government is prepared. About 500,000 people have moved to shelters.

Meanwhile, Jamaicans are beginning to recover from Ivan, the worst hurricane to hit Jamaica since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Ivan flooded roads, and many parts of the country are cut off from government assistance.

Cathy Barrett, the news director at RJR Radio in Kingston, says security forces have established control over urban areas, and largely curbed⁴ incidents of looting that broke out as Ivan passed near Jamaica.

"Yes, the security situation is basically under control," she said. "There have been some isolated⁵ incidents of looting. Our minister of national security, the Jamaica Defense⁶ Force and, of course, the police force has been out all over. But there have been some isolated incidents, and they are trying to get that under control. With the exception of that, throughout the rest of the country, people generally tend to feel safe. But there has been a public state of emergency that was ordered by the prime minister shortly before the hurricane hit to try and prevent this kind of thing, because we are out of electricity and water."

Forecasters say, once Ivan passes over Cuba, it will move out into the open waters of the Gulf⁷ of Mexico, sparing south Florida from being struck by a third hurricane in a month.

But they say, Ivan will probably come ashore⁸ somewhere in northern Florida later this week, and move through the southeast United States, bringing heavy flooding to a region already saturated⁹ by rain from the remnants of Hurricane Frances.

注释:
catastrophic 灾难的
uproot 连根拔起
Havana 哈瓦那(古巴首都)
shelter 庇护所
saturate 浸透
remnant 残迹

1 uprooting   

n.倒根，挖除伐根v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的现在分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• He is hard at work uprooting wild grass in the field. 他正在田里辛苦地芟夷呢。 来自互联网
• A storm raged through the village, uprooting trees and flattening crops. 暴风雨袭击了村庄，拔起了树木，吹倒了庄稼。 来自互联网

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

5 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

9 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液