热带风暴汹涌来袭 美国各州未雨绸缪

With Tropical Storm Lee bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, authorities are taking action. Oil and gas producers shut down platforms and evacuated workers from the Gulf, and the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana declared states of emergency．

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal warned of the potential for flooding. “This is gonna be a slow moving storm. There's gonna be a lot of rain, and that water is gonna accumulate. And I think the biggest concern is that you're gonna have an accumulation of water cause that, that water is gonna pile up. It's gonna come so quickly and for such a long time, it's not gonna be able to drain.”

One of the areas at risk is the Louisiana city of New Orleans. The city is more than two meters below sea level and shaped like a bowl, making it prone to flooding．

In 2005, New Orleans suffered devastating damage from Hurricane Katrina, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is urging residents to be ready for Lee. “We are all prepared and should prepare for localized flooding and we've taken all necessary precautions to do that, and we're encouraging citizens in New Orleans to make their preparations. Again, you know, prepare for the worst and let's hope for the best.”

随着热带风暴Lee逐渐向美国墨西哥湾逼近,美国政府已经开始采取行动。 油气生产者关闭了运作平台,并把工人从墨西哥湾撤出；密西西比州和路易斯安那州州长也都宣布全州处于紧急状态。

路易斯安那州州长博比•金德尔警告说,可能会发生洪灾。他说：“这次飓风可能因移动缓慢造成大量雨水积聚。我认为最大的担忧是雨水聚集到一块会造成洪水泛滥,到时候来势汹涌,而且在很长一段时间内都不能排干。”

路易斯安那州的新奥尔良市是危险地区之一。它的位置比海平面还要低两米多,形状就像一只碗,这样的地势使它容易发生洪涝灾害。

在2005年,新奥尔良就遭受过飓风卡特里娜带来的毁灭性破坏，市长米奇•兰德瑞欧要求市民做好应对热带风暴Lee的准备。他说：“我们已经做好准备,并且应该为局部地区发生洪灾做好准备。我们已经采取了所有必要的预防措施,并且鼓励新奥尔良的市民们也做好他们自己的预防措施。再一次,抱最好的希望,做最坏的打算。”(来源：沪江标准VOA新闻时讯)