新视野大学英语视听说教程第四册 Unit 3 Task 2: Flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic
The death too continues to (S1) climb from last week’s flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The U.S. Agency for International Development (S2) reports that at least1,068 people are dead, 1,600 are (S3) missing, and 25,000 are in need of emergency food and other forms of (S4)assistance. In Dominican Republic, 414 are dead and 274 are missing, all from the town of Jimani.
A key(S5) factor in the widespread destruction is the extensive deforestation and the (S6) presence of settlements along the floodplains of rivers.
The flooding was driven by intense rainfall. A low-pressure system (S7) originating in Central America brought exceptionally heavy rain and thunderstorms to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from May 18 t o25. (S8) Rainfall exceeded 500 mm (or 19.7 inches) along the border areas of Haiti and the Dominican Republic during that period. At the town of Jimani, Dominican Republic, 250mm (or 10 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours, causing the Solie River to overflow its banks from May24 to 25.The heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding and extensive debrisflowed over the entire region. Swollen rivers and debris cut off many of the roads traversing the area along the base of the mountains. (S9) This made it difficult for humanitarian relief worker to rescue stranded people and deliver badly. Now people want to know: How often do floods and related landmass movement also caused landsides in a few places.
(S10)Analysis of the past date shows that major floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti are now a near-annual event. Since 1986, twelve lethal events have occurred on the island.
