2007年VOA标准英语-Oxfam: Flood Defenses in South Asia May Have Ag
时间：2019-02-12 作者：英语课 分类：2007年VOA标准英语（八月）
New Delhi
18 August 2007
International aid agency Oxfam says poorly built flood defenses in South Asia may have aggravated 1 the intensity 2 of the recent flooding in the region. It calls for a reassessment of flood policies in the region, where nearly 20 million people have been affected 3 by flooding. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi.
A Pakistani family make their way through a flooded street after a heavy rain on 10 Aug. 2007 in Karachi, Pakistan
In a recent report, aid agency Oxfam said that defenses such as river embankments built to prevent flooding in countries such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh can make matters worse.
Ian Bray 4 of Oxfam has traveled through flood-hit areas in the Indian state of Bihar. He says many embankments are 50 years old, and are easily breached 5.
"We witness huge breaks in the embankments. What happens is about a 12-foot wall of water probably 300 meters wide that breaks through the embankments and inundates 6 anything in its way," he said.
The report estimates that in Bihar, embankments may have tripled the area prone 7 to floods to about seven million hectares from two and a half million hectares. It says in Bangladesh, 75 embankments were breached in one month during this year's floods. And in Nepal culverts and embankments triggered major floods by obstructing 8 the flow of water.
Experts say breached embankments not only contribute to massive flooding, they can be more destructive because they prevent water from draining away from flooded land.
Oxfam says governments must build good drainage systems to reduce the risk of floods.
Oxfam also urges South Asian governments to build more flood-proof infrastructure 9 such as shelters on higher ground, and homes and wells on raised land to ease the miseries 10 that flooding inflicts 11 on communities.
Other aid agencies agree that flood preparedness needs to improve.
ActionAid India's emergency adviser 12, P.V. Unnikrishnan, says governments need to spend more to prepare for floods, which have become an annual occurrence.
"If you make an investment of $1 in disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, it is thousand times more cost effective than reactionary 13 responses which happen after the disaster," he noted 14. "Invest in early warning systems and early response mechanisms 15 and most importantly, develop plans by engaging the local communities."
This year's floods were the most intense in recent times. Tens of thousands have lost their homes and livelihoods 16, and thousands of acres of farmland have been destroyed in some of the poorest regions of South Asia.
- If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
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- These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
- Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。
- The river inundates the valley each spring. 那一条河流每年春天使山谷泛滥。 来自辞典例句
- A flood occurs when overflows or inundates land that's normally dry. 当水流过量或者淹没正常的土地时，洪水发生。 来自互联网
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- You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
- He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。
- We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
- We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。
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- They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
- Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
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- The reactionary ruling clique was torn by internal strife.反动统治集团内部勾心斗角，四分五裂。
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- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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- With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。