Tornadoes in the South

　　南部龍卷風

　　Out of the whirlwind

　　旋風過后

　　The South cleans up after the deadliest storms in 86years

　　86年來最致命風暴過后，美國南部開始清理工作

　　PLEASANT RIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH, set on a busy commercial street in Hueytown, a dozenmiles south-west of Birmingham, was open for business. So was the Dairy Queen across thestreet, and the nearby Publix grocery store. Traffic was thick on Hueytown Road. But thechurchs business was not strictly ecclesiastical. It was also serving as a Red Cross shelter forthose left homeless just a few miles away. Church members were collecting donations ofclothes, water and toiletries. And at the Publix, signs at the checkout counters told shoppersthey could help their neighbours with donations added to the cost of their groceries.

　　休伊鎮位于伯明翰西南部十幾公里處，普萊曾特里奇浸信會教堂便坐落于這個小鎮一條繁忙的商業街上。教堂剛剛開門迎客，對面的DQ冰激凌店和附近的帕布克斯雜貨店也都開始營業了。休伊鎮的馬路交通十分擁擠。這座教堂并不嚴格限定僅向基督徒開放，它也作為紅十字會收容所幫助方圓幾公里的無家可歸者。教會成員會收集人們捐贈的衣服、飲水和梳洗用具。而帕布克斯雜貨店收銀臺前擺放的標牌也提示顧客，小店將把他們在此花費的一部分錢款捐獻給一旁的教會。

　　Such is the nature of tornadoes: even large ones rain intense destruction on relatively smallareas. The one that ran from Tuscaloosa north-east to Birmingham was immense, 1.5 milesacross and 80 miles long, with winds exceeding 165 miles per hour. Parts of Alabama wereutterly ruined, but most of the state was untouched. More than 300 tornadoes tore throughthe region between April 25th and 28th, an unprecedented number. They killed around 340people in seven states, with the bulk of the deaths in Alabama. Not since 1925 have morepeople been killed by tornadoes in a single day, and not since Hurricane Katrina has there beena deadlier natural disaster in America.

　　龍卷風實質上是一種擁有強大破壞力的、小范圍的空氣渦旋。在塔斯卡盧薩縣形成，一路向東北方向奔襲，席卷至伯明翰的龍卷風威力巨大，時速超過165英里，留下了一條寬1.5英里、長80英里的廢墟帶。亞拉巴馬州部分地區完全被毀，但該州大部分地區未受到襲擊。4月25日至28日期間，超過300場龍卷風席卷此地，數目空前頻繁。龍卷風造成美國7 個州大約340人遇難，其中絕大多數位于亞拉巴馬州。這是自1925年以來單日造成遇難者人數最多的龍卷風，也是自卡特里娜颶風之后美國發生的最為致命的自然災害。

　　Craig Fugate, who heads the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency , says that comparingthe tornadoes to Katrina is comparing apples toorangeseach disaster is different, and yourespond to the disaster youre dealing with. As amatter of meteorology, Mr Fugate has a point.Katrina affected an area roughly the size of GreatBritain and made landfall six days after it formed.Tornadoes are smaller; they form and die morequickly. Gregory Carbin, the warning-co-ordinationmeteorologist at the National Weather ServicesStorm Prediction Centre, says that last weeks storms were of a once-in-a-century severity, andafforded some of those hit as little as 20 minutes warning.

　　聯邦應急管理署署長克雷格?富蓋特表示，拿龍卷風與卡特里娜颶風作比較就好比將蘋果和橙子相比較每種災害都有各自的特點，你需要面對具體情況作出相應的反應。從氣象學角度看，富蓋特先生有自己的觀點。卡特里娜颶風影響到的區域大致相當于整個英國的面積，并且是在形成后6天登陸的。相對來說，龍卷風影響的區域更小，形成和衰減的速度更快。國家氣象觀測組風暴預測中心協調預警氣象學家格雷戈里?卡賓稱，上周發生的是百年一遇的特大風暴，其中的部分龍卷風給予人們的預警時間僅有20分鐘。

　　As a political matter, however, the comparison is hard to avoid. FEMA came under witheringcriticism for its slow and poorly co-ordinated response to Katrina, particularly to the flooding ofNew Orleans. Its performance this time was swifter and surer. The agency had emergencyresponse teams in place in Hoover and Tuscaloosa by April 29th, working in co-ordinationwith Alabamas emergency operations centre around 55 miles south of Birmingham. BarackObama declared major disasters in Alabama on April 28th, in Mississippi on the 29th, Georgia onthe 30th and Tennessee and Arkansas after that, making federal funds available to individuals,state and local governments.

　　然而，作為一個政治問題，兩者的比較無可避免。面對卡特里娜颶風，特別是在新奧爾良引發的洪災，FEMA協調能力差，反應速度慢，曾為此遭受了令其難堪的批評。而此次，FEMA行動更為快速穩健。通過與伯明翰向南約55英里處的亞拉巴馬應急行動中心協同工作，FEMA在4月29日就已將應急反應小組派遣至胡佛和塔斯卡盧薩縣。4月28日，貝拉克?奧巴馬宣布亞拉巴馬州遭受重大自然災害進入緊急狀態，29日、30日及之后又先后宣布密西西比州、佐治亞州、田納西州和阿肯色州進入緊急狀態，使得聯邦政府能夠向受災群眾、州縣和當地政府提供救援資金。

　　By Monday several cabinet members as well as the president had visited Alabama. FEMAexpects to move into a joint field office, housing all federal responders, by weeks end; it toowill remain open as long as necessary.

　　至本周一，奧巴馬總統和部分內閣成員都已前往亞拉巴馬州慰問災情。FEMA計劃本周末前與各部門聯合，建立起一個現場辦公室，供所有聯邦災害應急處理人員辦公。只要有必要，辦公室將一直持續運作。

　　Just what that means is unclear: rebuilding may take years. It will also be expensive in a regionthat can ill afford it: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi were all projecting budgetshortfalls for next year already. Clean-up costs alone in Jefferson County, home to Alabamaslargest city, may exceed $400m. The only consoling news, says Mr Carbin, is that we knowwhat happened is pretty rare. Unfortunately, while an unusually large number of tornadoesstruck this April, on average May is the more active month.

　　只是我們不清楚，這具體意味著什么，重建是需要數年時間的。此外，重建所需的高昂費用對于這一區域來說也是難以承擔的：亞拉巴馬州、佐治亞州、田納西州和密西西比州下一財年的預算都已經出現赤字。杰斐遜是亞拉巴馬州最大城市伯明翰所在縣，僅此一縣的災后清理花費將超過4億美元。卡賓先生稱，唯一令人稍感寬慰的消息是，我們知道這次的災難非常罕見。不幸的是，雖然四月襲擊美國的龍卷風數量之多并不尋常，然而普遍來說，五月是龍卷風更為活躍的時期。

　　Tornadoes in the South

　　南部龍卷風

　　Out of the whirlwind

　　旋風過后

　　The South cleans up after the deadliest storms in 86years

　　86年來最致命風暴過后，美國南部開始清理工作

　　PLEASANT RIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH, set on a busy commercial street in Hueytown, a dozenmiles south-west of Birmingham, was open for business. So was the Dairy Queen across thestreet, and the nearby Publix grocery store. Traffic was thick on Hueytown Road. But thechurchs business was not strictly ecclesiastical. It was also serving as a Red Cross shelter forthose left homeless just a few miles away. Church members were collecting donations ofclothes, water and toiletries. And at the Publix, signs at the checkout counters told shoppersthey could help their neighbours with donations added to the cost of their groceries.

　　休伊鎮位于伯明翰西南部十幾公里處，普萊曾特里奇浸信會教堂便坐落于這個小鎮一條繁忙的商業街上。教堂剛剛開門迎客，對面的DQ冰激凌店和附近的帕布克斯雜貨店也都開始營業了。休伊鎮的馬路交通十分擁擠。這座教堂并不嚴格限定僅向基督徒開放，它也作為紅十字會收容所幫助方圓幾公里的無家可歸者。教會成員會收集人們捐贈的衣服、飲水和梳洗用具。而帕布克斯雜貨店收銀臺前擺放的標牌也提示顧客，小店將把他們在此花費的一部分錢款捐獻給一旁的教會。

　　Such is the nature of tornadoes: even large ones rain intense destruction on relatively smallareas. The one that ran from Tuscaloosa north-east to Birmingham was immense, 1.5 milesacross and 80 miles long, with winds exceeding 165 miles per hour. Parts of Alabama wereutterly ruined, but most of the state was untouched. More than 300 tornadoes tore throughthe region between April 25th and 28th, an unprecedented number. They killed around 340people in seven states, with the bulk of the deaths in Alabama. Not since 1925 have morepeople been killed by tornadoes in a single day, and not since Hurricane Katrina has there beena deadlier natural disaster in America.

　　龍卷風實質上是一種擁有強大破壞力的、小范圍的空氣渦旋。在塔斯卡盧薩縣形成，一路向東北方向奔襲，席卷至伯明翰的龍卷風威力巨大，時速超過165英里，留下了一條寬1.5英里、長80英里的廢墟帶。亞拉巴馬州部分地區完全被毀，但該州大部分地區未受到襲擊。4月25日至28日期間，超過300場龍卷風席卷此地，數目空前頻繁。龍卷風造成美國7 個州大約340人遇難，其中絕大多數位于亞拉巴馬州。這是自1925年以來單日造成遇難者人數最多的龍卷風，也是自卡特里娜颶風之后美國發生的最為致命的自然災害。

　　Craig Fugate, who heads the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency , says that comparingthe tornadoes to Katrina is comparing apples toorangeseach disaster is different, and yourespond to the disaster youre dealing with. As amatter of meteorology, Mr Fugate has a point.Katrina affected an area roughly the size of GreatBritain and made landfall six days after it formed.Tornadoes are smaller; they form and die morequickly. Gregory Carbin, the warning-co-ordinationmeteorologist at the National Weather ServicesStorm Prediction Centre, says that last weeks storms were of a once-in-a-century severity, andafforded some of those hit as little as 20 minutes warning.

　　聯邦應急管理署署長克雷格?富蓋特表示，拿龍卷風與卡特里娜颶風作比較就好比將蘋果和橙子相比較每種災害都有各自的特點，你需要面對具體情況作出相應的反應。從氣象學角度看，富蓋特先生有自己的觀點。卡特里娜颶風影響到的區域大致相當于整個英國的面積，并且是在形成后6天登陸的。相對來說，龍卷風影響的區域更小，形成和衰減的速度更快。國家氣象觀測組風暴預測中心協調預警氣象學家格雷戈里?卡賓稱，上周發生的是百年一遇的特大風暴，其中的部分龍卷風給予人們的預警時間僅有20分鐘。

　　As a political matter, however, the comparison is hard to avoid. FEMA came under witheringcriticism for its slow and poorly co-ordinated response to Katrina, particularly to the flooding ofNew Orleans. Its performance this time was swifter and surer. The agency had emergencyresponse teams in place in Hoover and Tuscaloosa by April 29th, working in co-ordinationwith Alabamas emergency operations centre around 55 miles south of Birmingham. BarackObama declared major disasters in Alabama on April 28th, in Mississippi on the 29th, Georgia onthe 30th and Tennessee and Arkansas after that, making federal funds available to individuals,state and local governments.

　　然而，作為一個政治問題，兩者的比較無可避免。面對卡特里娜颶風，特別是在新奧爾良引發的洪災，FEMA協調能力差，反應速度慢，曾為此遭受了令其難堪的批評。而此次，FEMA行動更為快速穩健。通過與伯明翰向南約55英里處的亞拉巴馬應急行動中心協同工作，FEMA在4月29日就已將應急反應小組派遣至胡佛和塔斯卡盧薩縣。4月28日，貝拉克?奧巴馬宣布亞拉巴馬州遭受重大自然災害進入緊急狀態，29日、30日及之后又先后宣布密西西比州、佐治亞州、田納西州和阿肯色州進入緊急狀態，使得聯邦政府能夠向受災群眾、州縣和當地政府提供救援資金。

　　By Monday several cabinet members as well as the president had visited Alabama. FEMAexpects to move into a joint field office, housing all federal responders, by weeks end; it toowill remain open as long as necessary.

　　至本周一，奧巴馬總統和部分內閣成員都已前往亞拉巴馬州慰問災情。FEMA計劃本周末前與各部門聯合，建立起一個現場辦公室，供所有聯邦災害應急處理人員辦公。只要有必要，辦公室將一直持續運作。

　　Just what that means is unclear: rebuilding may take years. It will also be expensive in a regionthat can ill afford it: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi were all projecting budgetshortfalls for next year already. Clean-up costs alone in Jefferson County, home to Alabamaslargest city, may exceed $400m. The only consoling news, says Mr Carbin, is that we knowwhat happened is pretty rare. Unfortunately, while an unusually large number of tornadoesstruck this April, on average May is the more active month.

　　只是我們不清楚，這具體意味著什么，重建是需要數年時間的。此外，重建所需的高昂費用對于這一區域來說也是難以承擔的：亞拉巴馬州、佐治亞州、田納西州和密西西比州下一財年的預算都已經出現赤字。杰斐遜是亞拉巴馬州最大城市伯明翰所在縣，僅此一縣的災后清理花費將超過4億美元。卡賓先生稱，唯一令人稍感寬慰的消息是，我們知道這次的災難非常罕見。不幸的是，雖然四月襲擊美國的龍卷風數量之多并不尋常，然而普遍來說，五月是龍卷風更為活躍的時期。