VOA标准英语2009年-Poor Urban Planning Partly to Blame for We

Poor urban planning is partly to blame for flooding in West Africa that is affecting nearly 600,000 people. Some people in low-lying areas are being resettled.

More than half of those affected¹ by this rainy season's flooding in West Africa are in Burkina Faso and Senegal. And most of them live in urban areas where poor drainage and unenforced zoning laws are compounding the problem.

Burkina Faso's heaviest rains in 90 years have made more than 150,000 people homeless. Most now live in schools and community centers around the capital, Ouagadougou.

Prime Minister Tertius Zongo is asking the international community for more than $150 million to drain that flood water and resettle thousands of families away from areas prone² to flooding.

Elizabeth Byrs, of the U.N. Office for the Coordination³ of Humanitarian⁴ Affairs, says flooding has been made worse by poor urban planning.

She says flooding in downtown Ouagadougou is a consequence of what she calls "wild urbanism," a problem shared by the Senegalese capital, Dakar, where Byrs says unregulated construction in flood-prone areas blocks the natural flow of water.

When combined with drainage systems unable to keep pace with a growing urban population, Byrs says as little as five millimeters of rain can result in widespread flooding.

Sierra Leone's government blames illegal construction on protected land for floods and mudslides that killed seven people in the capital, Freetown.

Most of the nearly 250,000 people affected in Senegal live in low-lying neighborhoods outside the capital where the water table is so high and drainage so poor that water from last year's rains was still standing⁵ in some homes before this year's rains began.

In response to flooding in 2005, the Senegalese government started resettling families in a higher, drier area 25 kilometers east of the capital. More than 1,700 families now live in the settlement that has its own police station, primary schools, and a technical college with plans for another 1,300 homes.

Byrs says more changes must be made in the near future to reduce urban overcrowding in West Africa or each rainy season could produce more dramatic floods.  

1 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。

2 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

3 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。