BBC News: 常年干旱的加州 現(xiàn)在情況有所緩和

The U.S. state of California has been suffering a historic drought. Three years ago, its governor declared a drought state of emergency. Late last year, 97 percent of California was in drought. But today, the U.S. drought monitor says less than 60 percent of the state is under drought conditions. What happened?

美國加州一直在遭受歷史性干旱。三年前，其州長宣布進(jìn)入干旱緊急狀態(tài)。去年年底，97%的加州處于干旱狀態(tài)。但是今天,美國干旱監(jiān)表示處于干旱的地區(qū)不到97%.到底發(fā)生了什么事情?

A series of winter storms all hitting in a short amount of time. Since Monday, more than seven inches of rain had fallen, mostly in northern California. Six to 12 feet had fallen on the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They're California's biggest source for water storage and their snow could help refill nearby rivers and lakes, many of which have already risen considerably in recent days.

在很短的時(shí)間內(nèi)，加州遭遇了一系列的暴風(fēng)雪。自從周一，多數(shù)加州北部地區(qū)降雨量超過了7英寸。內(nèi)華達(dá)山脈的降雨量達(dá)到了6到12英寸。內(nèi)華達(dá)山脈是加州最大的蓄水庫，同時(shí)降雪可以幫助注滿附近的河流和湖泊，在最近幾天，許多河流和湖泊的水位都大幅提升。

There's a major downside to this sudden soggy storms, though. Avalanches, flooding, river waters rising over their flood stages, soaking land, buildings and homes nearby. It's brought dangerous conditions to many Californians.

但是對于突如其來的暴風(fēng)雪也有一個重大的弊端。雪崩、洪水、洪澇時(shí)期的水位上漲、被水浸泡的土地，以及附近的建筑物和住所。這些都造成許多加州居民的危險(xiǎn)狀況。

In the U.S., flash floods kill more people than tornadoes, hurricanes or lightning.

在美國死于洪水的人數(shù)要多于龍卷風(fēng)、颶風(fēng)和閃電。

A flash flood creates a rush of moving water that can sweep a grown man off his feet, a car off the road, and even your entire home off its foundation.

突如其來的洪水會可以將成年男子、汽車甚至房子都拔地沖走。

When the ground become so saturated that water can no longer seep into the soil, it begins to run off quickly into rivers and streams and this causes a rise in water and a flash.

當(dāng)?shù)孛孀兊蔑柡?水不再能滲入土壤,水流就開始流入河流和小溪，這就會導(dǎo)致河流和小溪的水位迅速上漲。

Densely populated areas have an extremely high risk of flash flooding, with the additional concrete in less grassy areas for the water to soak into the soil, and they can see flash flooding very quickly. In the mountainous terrain, the combination of gravity, plus the easy runoff can lead to catastrophic flooding, when all of that water is funneled into the rivers, creeks, and even the valleys.

人口密集的地區(qū)，混凝土較多而可供水浸透土壤植被區(qū)較少，因此洪水的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)極高，同時(shí)洪水來勢也非常迅速。在多山的地區(qū)，再加上重力以及地表徑流，當(dāng)所有的水流都流入流入河流、小溪、甚至山谷會導(dǎo)致重大的災(zāi)難。

Remember, flash flooding can happen in the blink of an eye, that's why it's so important to stay alert and pay attention in case a flash flood watch or warning is issued for your area.

記住，水可能發(fā)生在眨眼之間,這就是為何保持警惕和注意如此重要,萬一你所在的地區(qū)發(fā)出洪水警報(bào)呢~