VOA常速英语2007年-Dominican Republic Flooding Kills 22

By Brian Wagner
Miami
13 December 2007

Emergency officials in the Dominican Republic say at least 22 people have been killed in flooding caused by Tropical Storm Olga. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports many of the victims were killed by waters released from a hydroelectric dam.

Dominican officials say they were forced to release waters from the Tavera Dam late Wednesday to prevent the structure from collapsing¹ under the weight of heavy rains. The decision allowed millions of liters of water to flow into the swollen² Yaque River in the northern province of Santiago.

Residents criticized officials for the move, saying emergency crews gave them little or no warning to evacuate³ before flood waters engulfed⁴ their communities.

Nilba Perez, communications director for the charity World Vision International in Santo Domingo, says several communities have been completely flooded.

Perez says some homes have been flooded and may be salvageable⁵ after the waters recede⁶. But she says many others have been completely destroyed by the flood waters.

Emergency officials say some 35,000 people have been forced from their homes because of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Olga. The storm also knocked out power and fresh water supplies to many parts of the Caribbean nation.

The storm also is blamed for two deaths in Haiti, and a landslide⁷ killed one man in Puerto Rico earlier this week.

In October, the Dominican Republic was hit by storm Noel, which killed at least 87 people and caused millions of dollars in damage to roads, homes and power systems.

Weather forecasters said Tropical Storm Olga is unusual because it developed nearly two weeks after the end of the official hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.

1 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

2 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

3 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

4 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 salvageable   

adj. 可抢救的(可打捞的)

参考例句：

• Tank wrecks found on maps are no longer salvageable. 地图上自带的坦克残骸将不能被轴心国工兵回收。
• Their marriage was not salvageable. 他们的婚姻已不可挽回。

6 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

7 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。