Communities Line Up for Water in Dry Amazon

Communities Line Up for Water in Dry Amazon

干旱的亚马逊社区排队取水

【原文听力】

　　By Gregory Stachel

　　31 October 2023

　　A drought is endangering communities in the Amazon, a large rainforest in South America.

　　Public officials in Brazil are attempting to transport food and water to thousands of distant communities. The situation is more complex as the area has few roads. Boats are the main transportation to these communities.

　　Across the huge Amazonas state 59 out of its 62 municipalities are under a state of emergency. About 633,000 people are affected. In the capital Manaus, the large Negro river is at its lowest level since official measurements began 121 years ago. The Negro flows into the Amazon River.

　　A resident of a riverside community carries a container of drinking water from an aid distribution due to the ongoing drought in Careiro da Varzea, Amazonas state, Brazil on October 24, 2023.(AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

　　The city of Careiro da Varzea is in great need. It lies by the Amazon River not far from Manaus. Recently, the municipality gave out emergency supplies. The city used a boat that normally transports farm animals.

　　The Associated Press joined on transport operations to two communities.

　　Each family received a basic food supply and 20 liters of water. It was enough for just a few days, but difficult to carry in the heat.

　　"I will have to carry the food package on my back for half an hour," Moisés Batista de Souza told the AP. He owns a small farm in Sao Lazaro community. He said the biggest problem is getting drinkable water. He has to walk a long way for that, he says.

　　"Everybody in Careiro da Varzea has been affected by the drought," said Jean Costa de Souza. He is chief of Civil Defense of Careiro da Varzea, a municipality of 19,600 people. Most of them live in rural areas.

　　"Unfortunately, people don't have water. Some lost their crops, while others couldn't transport their output," he said.

　　Costa de Souza reported also that the municipality will complete the first transports to all rural communities next week. The local government is now planning two more transports. They are waiting for state and federal aid.

　　Periods of dry weather are part of the Amazon's usual weather pattern. Lighter rainfall happens from May to October for most of the rainforest.

　　This year's dry season is longer because of two different weather events: the warming of northern Equatorial Atlantic Ocean waters and El Nino. El Nino is the warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific area. It will be at its strongest point between December and January.

　　I'm Gregory Stachel.

　　Edmar Barros reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted the story for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者:格雷戈里·斯塔切尔

　　2023年10月31日

　　A 干旱正在危及亚马逊的社区，这是南美洲的一大片雨林。

　　巴西的政府官员正试图将食物和水运送到数千个偏远的社区。由于该地区道路稀少，情况更加复杂。船是这些社区的主要交通工具。

　　整个亚马逊州62个州中的59个自治市处于紧急状态。约63.3万人受到影响。在首都马瑙斯，内格罗河的水位处于自121年前开始官方测量以来的最低点。黑人流入亚马逊河。

　　2023年10月24日，由于巴西亚马逊州Careiro da Varzea持续干旱，一名河边社区的居民携带一个来自援助分发的饮用水容器。(美联社图片/埃德马·巴罗斯)

　　卡雷罗达瓦泽市非常需要。它位于亚马逊河畔，离马瑙斯不远。最近，市政府发放了应急物资。该市使用一艘通常运输家畜的船。

　　这美联社参与两个社区的运输业务。

　　每个家庭都得到了基本的食物供应和20升水。只够用几天，但在炎热的天气里很难携带。

　　莫伊斯·巴蒂斯塔·德·索萨告诉《每日邮报》:“我将不得不背上食物包半个小时。”美国联合通讯社(Associated Press)。他在圣拉扎罗社区拥有一个小农场。他说最大的问题是获得饮用水。他说，为此他必须走很长的路。

　　让·科斯塔·德索萨说:“卡雷罗·达瓦泽的每个人都受到了干旱的影响。他是拥有19，600人口的Careiro da Varzea市的民防局长。他们大多数住在农村地区。

　　"不幸地，人家没水。一些人失去了他们的作物，而另一些人无法运输他们的产品，”他说。

　　Costa de Souza还报告说，该市将于下周完成向所有农村社区的首批运输。当地政府现在正在计划另外两次运输。他们正在等待州政府和联邦政府的援助。

　　干旱的天气是亚马逊通常天气的一部分模式。对于大部分雨林来说，5月至10月降雨量较少。

　　今年的旱季更长，因为两个不同的天气事件:北赤道大西洋海水变暖和厄尔尼诺现象。厄尔尼诺现象是赤道太平洋地区表层海水变暖。它将在12月和1月之间达到顶峰。

　　我是格雷戈里·斯塔切尔。

　　埃德马·巴罗斯为美联社报道了这个故事。Gregory Stachel为VOA英语学习改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词语

　　drought – n.很少下雨或不下雨的一段长时间

　　unfortunately – n.以令人遗憾的、不幸的或不合适的方式

　　municipality – n.拥有自己的政府来处理当地问题的城市或城镇

　　pattern – n. 某事发生或完成的规律和重复的方式