当前位置: Language Tips> 新闻播报

British PM warns of worsening floods

中国日报网 2014-02-13 10:20

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Tuesday that domestic floods were likely going to get worse before they got better, pledging money was now no object to battling back the rising waters.

Cameron scrapped a previously unannounced trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories next week in order to stay home and deal with the floods, as the government faced renewed criticism that it was under-prepared.

Troops were sent in to help deal with the worsening situation in southern England as hundreds of homes were swamped along the River Thames and rail services succumbed to the bad weather.

Affluent towns and villages along the Thames to the west of London have been transformed into lagoons.

More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated along the Thames, and the situation was set to worsen with heavy rain and storms on the way by Friday.

"There is absolutely no sign of this threat abating, and with further rain and strong winds forecast throughout the week, things may get worse before they get better," Cameron told reporters at his Downing Street office. "Money is no object in this relief effort. Whatever money is needed for it will be spent. We will take whatever steps are necessary."

As for his planned Middle East trip, Cameron said he would instead continue to "lead the national response" by heading the government's COBRA emergency committee.

He said he was sending his apologies to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, "but nothing is more important than dealing with these floods."

It would have been Cameron's first trip to the region since becoming prime minister in 2010.

Flooding first hit the largely rural southwestern county of Somerset but has now engulfed towns and villages along the swollen Thames in the southeast, encroaching toward London.

A total of 1,600 troops have been deployed, and some were already at work filling sandbags in Wraysbury, where one resident had a bitter exchange with Defense Secretary Philip Hammond.

Su Burrows, a volunteer flood warden, said the relief effort had been left to residents like her and pleaded with Hammond for military help to distribute sandbags.

"I'm sorry, I am going to get emotional. There are 100 people of this village currently working together, none of them (Environment Agency) agents, not one," she told him in the exchange on Sky News television.

Burrows said later that her blast seemed to have borne fruit, as 2,000 sandbags were sent to Wraysbury, followed soon afterward by 100 soldiers.

Hammond cautioned that government cannot "prevent the course of nature".

Insurers said overall claims had already exceeded $825 million and the bill would rise fast.

Cameron said $3.9 billion would be spent on flood defense between 2010 and 2014.

Questions:

1. What natural disaster is Britain dealing with?

2. What areas are affected?

3. Who canceled travel plans?

Answers:

1. Heavy flooding.

2. Hundreds of homes are swamped along the River Thames and rail services succumbed to the bad weather.

3. Prime Minister David Cameron.

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

British PM warns of worsening floods

About the broadcaster:

British PM warns of worsening floods

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
搜热词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn