2007年VOA标准英语-Mexico Begins to Assess Damage From Hurricane D

By Brian Wagner
Miami
21 August 2007

Mexican officials say no casualties have been reported since Hurricane Dean hit the nation's Caribbean coast and moved inland. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the storm may still be a threat as it continues to move west toward central Mexico.

Aftermath of Hurricane Dean in Chetumal, Mexico, 21 Aug 2007

Officials in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula began assessing the damage from Hurricane Dean after the category 5 storm hit the coastline early Tuesday bringing, winds of 265 kilometers per hour.

The eye of the hurricane first reached land near the Mexican town of Chetumal, where it uprooted¹ trees, snapped power lines and flooded streets. Mexican troops had evacuated² some residents in the area ahead of the storm, but others remained in their homes.

During a trip to Canada, where he met with U.S. President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, said he was cutting short the meeting so he could return to Mexico to focus on the disaster. Calderon said he had received no reports of casualties from the hurricane so far.

President Bush gestures as he responds to a question during the closing news conference at the North American Leaders Summit in Montebello, 21 Aug 2007

At a news conference, President Bush told the Mexican leader that Washington was prepared to offer emergency assistance if needed.

"I want you to know that U.S. agencies are in close touch with the proper Mexican authorities, and if you so desire help, we stand ready to help," said President Bush.

Forecasters said the eye of Hurricane Dean followed a path across sparsely³ populated areas on Mexican coast, and away from population centers such as the resort city of Cancun.

Hugo Camarillo, an employee at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cancun, said Dean brought strong winds and rain to the area, but caused no real damage.

"As I have heard, there are no damages at any hotel. It is still a little bit cloudy, but the sun is coming out," he said. "The ocean is still dangerous for swimming, but everything is going back to normal."

Camarillo said only 30 guests remained at the hotel while the hurricane passed through, but he said tour groups were expected to begin returning to the beach-side hotel late Tuesday.

The last major hurricane to hit the area was Wilma in 2005, which caused nearly $3 billion in damages on Cancun's coast.

Weather forecasters said hurricane Dean had steadily⁴ weakened as it moved over land, and was downgraded to a category one storm with winds of 140 kilometers per hour. But they warned the storm could regain⁵ strength as it moved into the Bay of Campeche, on its way to a second landfall in central Mexico, sometime Wednesday afternoon.

Hurricane Dean is blamed for at least 11 deaths in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and the island of Dominica.

In Florida, the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour landed safely, after officials ordered the crew to end its mission one day early because of weather concerns at mission control in Houston, Texas.

1 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

3 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。