VOA标准英语2009年-UN Says Preparing for Disasters Can Save L

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 October 2009
The United Nations says better preparedness and early-warning systems can save lives and property when natural disasters strike. To mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, the United Nations urges countries to take the actions needed to lessen¹ the impacts of hazards.

 
Volunteers help clean up a local residents home covered in mud from landslides² brought by Typhoon Morakot in the village of Chishan, in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan, 14 Aug 2009
The negative impacts of natural disasters can be seen everywhere. In just the past few weeks, the world has witnessed the destructive power of earthquakes in Indonesia, typhoons in the Philippines and the tsunami³ that struck Samoa and neighboring islands.

A study by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters finds that, between 1980 and 2007, nearly 8,400 natural disasters killed more than two-million people. These catastrophic events caused more than $1.5 trillion in economic losses.

U.N. Meteorologist Geoffrey Love says that is the bad news.

"Over the last 50 years, economic losses have increased by a factor of 50. That sounds pretty horrendous⁴, but the loss of life has decreased by a factor of 10 simply because we are getting better at warning people. We are making a difference," he said. "Extreme events, however, will continue to occur. But, the message is that they may not be disasters." 

Love, who is director of Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction at the World Meteorological Organization, says most of the deaths and economic losses were caused by weather, climate, or water-related extremes. These include droughts, floods, windstorms, tropical cyclones⁶ and wildfires. 

He says extreme events will continue. But, he says extreme events become disasters only when people fail to prepare for them.

"Many of the remedies are well-known. From a planning perspective, it is pretty simple. Build resilient buildings. Do not build where the hazards will destroy them," said Love. "From an early-warning perspective, make sure the warnings go right down to the community level. Build on community education. Build community action plans." 

The World Meteorological Organization points to Cuba and Bangladesh as examples of countries that have successfully reduced the loss of life caused by natural disasters by taking preventive action. 

It says tropical cyclones formerly⁷ claimed dozens, if not hundreds of lives, each year, in Cuba. But, the development of an early-warning system, has reversed that trend. In 2008, Cuba was hit by five successive hurricanes, but only seven people were killed.

Bangladesh also has achieved substantial results. Major storm surges in 1970 and 1991 caused the deaths of about 440,000 people. Through careful preparation, the death toll⁸ from super Cyclone⁵ Sidr in November 2007 was less than 3,500. 

1 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

2 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

5 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

6 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。