This winter, the U.S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow.
今年冬天,美国加利福尼亚州遭遇了异常大的雨雪天气。
Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts.
如今,人们担心随着内华达山脉的积雪融化,一些地区会发生洪灾。
Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
罗恩·卡埃塔诺住在洛杉矶和旧金山之间。
He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.
他正准备离开,以防他所在的社区——岛区——发生洪灾。
"The water is coming this way," said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors.
卡埃塔诺在脸书上创建了一个群组,以帮助组织他的邻居,他说:“水往这边来了。”
"I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that's all we can do."
“我在做最坏的打算,祈祷最好的结果,这就是我们所能做的。”
More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake.
100多年前,岛区位于一个名叫图拉雷湖的大湖下面。
At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River.
图拉雷湖曾经是密西西比河以西最大的淡水湖。
But dams and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear.
但水坝和农业灌溉系统使它消失了。
However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.
然而,在多雨的年份,农田仍然会被水覆盖。
Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year.
专家表示,该地区附近的水库今年的蓄水量可能会超过其容量的三倍。
That means officials must increase the amount of water they release from the reservoirs.
这意味着官员们必须增加水库的放水量。
If too much water is released, the area might flood.
如果放水量太多,该地区可能会被洪水淹没。
The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods.
岛区组织了一个社区网络来帮助做好抗洪准备。
People are placing sandbags on elderly neighbors' property to block possible flooding.
人们在年迈的邻居的房子上放置沙袋,以防止可能会发生的洪灾。
And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.
他们正在查看水务官员、县官员以及彼此发布的报告。
Tony Oliveira is a former county supervisor and the network's administrator.
托尼·奥利维拉是前县监督员,也是该网络的管理员。
His family has lived in the area for generations.
他家几代人都住在这个地区。
He said he remembers moving cattle and horses when the rains came in 1983, and will do the same this time, if necessary.
他说,他还记得1983年下雨时搬牛搬马的情景,如果有必要,这一次也会这样做。
California has had very dry weather in recent years.
近年来,加利福尼亚州的天气非常干燥。
Both cities and farm communities welcomed this year's winter rains.
今年,城市和农村都迎来了冬雨。
If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding.
如果天气慢慢变暖,雪不会迅速融化,那么就可能很少或根本不会发生洪灾。
But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.
但如果天气迅速变热,太多积雪融化就会带来麻烦。
Officials announced plans to temporarily close parts of Yosemite National Park starting on April 28 because of threats of flooding.
官员们宣布,由于洪灾威胁,计划从4月28日开始暂时关闭约塞米蒂国家公园的部分区域。
The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
该公园位于旧金山以东约270公里处的内华达山脉。
California governor Gavin Newsom visited the Tulare Lake area recently and said the situation will likely become worse.
加利福尼亚州州长加文·纽森最近视察了图拉雷湖地区,并表示情况可能会变得更糟。
"Where we're standing likely will be underwater in a matter of weeks, if not months," he said.
他说:“我们现在所处的位置可能会在几个月内甚至几周内就会被淹没。”
Dusty Ference is executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau.
达斯蒂·费伦斯是金斯县农业局的执行主任。
He said more than 242 square kilometers of the area's farmland has already flooded.
他说,该地区超过242平方公里的农田已经被洪水淹没。
Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
尼古拉斯·品特就职于加州大学戴维斯分校流域科学中心。
He said the lake's size has always changed because of California's weather.
他说,由于加州的天气,这片湖的大小一直在变化。
He said farmers have known there would be times like the current situation.
他说,农民们已经知道会有像目前这样的情况发生。
He described the surrounding area this way.
他是这样描述周围环境的。
"It has been an engineering problem all along," he said. "This is a bathtub with no drain."
“这一直是一个工程问题,”他说。“这是一个没有排水管的浴缸。”
I'm Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!