PBS高端访谈:被罕见洪水淹没 加州民众渴望太阳

 　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Let's turn our focus out West to Northern California, where rain and flooding have wreaked¹ havoc² on a once-drought-stricken region.

　　Officials in San Jose ordered some 14,000 people to evacuate³ overnight. Floodwaters did stabilize⁴ today, but neighborhoods were inundated⁵. Officials said they don't yet know when residents will be able to return to their homes.

　　We're now joined by the mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo.

　　Mayor Liccardo, I just want to ask. You have got 14,000 out for sure, another 20,000 encouraged to leave. All of them want this information that you can't give them yet, which is, when will they be able to go back home?

　　MAYOR SAM LICCARDO, San Jose, California: Yes, the important message is that we're not out of this yet.

　　Although the waters are receding⁶, we know we have got other storms that are coming in. And it's not safe to go in many of these neighborhoods yet. We have got a lot of very contaminated water. And we don't want folks going in there if they're going to be in peril⁷.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Do you have any estimate on how significant the damage is?

　　SAM LICCARDO: Not yet.

　　Right now, we're really just focused on making sure we're taking care of the families and their immediate⁸ needs. We are going to have an opportunity to get building inspectors⁹ in there to really look at the housing and make sure it's safe. And we will have a better sense in the days to come.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: But why did it take so long to evacuate these folks? We were reporting on this in the East Coast. People knew that this storm was coming. You knew. You had the weather forecast.

　　Yet now we see reports that it was late last night where the police were pounding on doors and saying, hey, come on, it's too late, you have got to move.

　　SAM LICCARDO: Yes, it's fair to say we were preparing for a storm, but what really flooded these neighborhoods was the overpouring of a dam, Anderson Dam, which released a torrent¹⁰ of water that exceeded our 100-year flood estimate.

　　Essentially¹¹, the flood maps, the data that we were relying on wasn't preparing us for this. And so we are clearly learning some very hard lessons here, and we have got a lot to fix going forward.

　　被罕见洪水淹没 加州民众渴望太阳

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Anderson Dam, which feeds that Coyote Creek¹² area, some engineers say it could take nine weeks for them to bring it down to the safe levels at 68 percent, or whatever the capacity is of the reservoir. And right now, it's up at 100.

　　So, is there going to be a huge volume of water that floods through this creek and basically keeps this the status quo in San Jose and parts of other neighborhoods here?

　　SAM LICCARDO: Well, much depends on the rains that are to come.

　　We're expecting another storm this weekend. And we hope that obviously it won't be substantial, because we need to get some sun on this reservoir to get some of that water evaporated.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Has the city requested any sort of aid from the state or the federal government?

　　SAM LICCARDO: I had a conversation with the governor's office just a couple of hours ago.

　　We're working with them collaboratively. So far, we have been able to manage this on our own, really incredible work by a lot of firefighters, first-responders who are working many overtime¹³ shifts to safely evacuate hundreds of residents by boat, really a great testament¹⁴ to their hard work.

　　But we know we're probably going to need help in the weeks to come. And we're working now with the state to figure out how we can do that.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: How many people do you still have in emergency shelters? And is that number decreasing?

　　SAM LICCARDO: We have more than 300 in shelters right now. The good news is really the overwhelming majority of the displaced residents were able to find help with friends or family members nearby.

　　So we're going to do everything we can to help folks who are displaced and see how we can help them get back on their feet. What's been a remarkable¹⁵ thing is to see how the community has reached out in various ways to help these families. Volunteers, a lot of contributions and donations we're seeing pouring in now.

　　It's a real testament to how this community is pulling together in tough times.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Is there anything else that the city of San Jose needs?

　　SAM LICCARDO: Well, certainly, we appreciate any contributions through our local community foundation to help these families get back on their feet.

　　But, more than anything, beyond a big bottle of Drano, we could use some sun. And we have got some sun today. And we hope that the good weather will persist as long as possible.

　　It's an odd thing to ask for in California, because we get 300 days of sun a year. And we have just endured years of drought. But we need more sun.

　　HARI SREENIVASAN: Yes.

　　All right, Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose, thanks so much.

　　SAM LICCARDO: Thank you.

1 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

2 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

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 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

7 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

13 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

14 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。