熱帶風(fēng)暴給休斯敦帶來“災(zāi)難性”洪水

Houston, the capital of the US oil and gas industry, was hit by “catastrophic” flooding over the weekend as Tropical Storm Harvey caused torrential rains across southern Texas.

熱帶風(fēng)暴哈維(Harvey)周末給德克薩斯州南部帶來強降雨，由此導(dǎo)致的“災(zāi)難性”洪水侵襲美國油氣行業(yè)重鎮(zhèn)休斯敦。

Harvey weakened from a Category 4 hurricane to a Category 1 tropical storm after making landfall near the port of Corpus Christi on Friday night, but brought heavy rain to Houston 150 miles away to the north-east.

“哈維”于上周五夜間在科珀斯克里斯蒂港(Port of Corpus Christi)附近登陸后，已從4級颶風(fēng)減弱至1級熱帶風(fēng)暴，但給東北方向上150英里外的休斯敦帶來強降雨。

The US National Hurricane Center warned that 50 inches of rain could fall in some areas, which would be “unprecedented”.

美國國家颶風(fēng)中心(US National Hurricane Center)警告稱，一些地區(qū)的降雨量可能高達50英寸，這將是“空前”的。

It said record flooding was expected in many parts of south-east Texas, creating a “life-threatening situation”, with heavy rain expected to continue until at least Wednesday.

該中心表示，預(yù)計德州東南部很多地區(qū)將爆發(fā)創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的洪水，造成“危及生命的情況”，預(yù)計強降雨將至少持續(xù)到周三。

More than 27 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas, with 35 inches expected by Sunday evening, the weather service said.

該中心表示，一些地區(qū)的24小時降雨量超過了27英寸，預(yù)計到周日夜間將達到35英寸。

Southeast Texas holds one of the highest concentrations of energy infrastructure in the US, with refineries, chemicals plants, pipelines and terminals. Houston is also one of the country’s busiest ports.

德州東南部是美國能源基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施最集中的地區(qū)之一，建有很多煉油廠、化工廠、管道和碼頭。休斯敦也是美國最繁忙的港口之一。

ExxonMobil, the oil and gas group, said on Sunday morning that the flooding had led to “operational issues” at its Baytown refinery complex, adding that it was “in the process of a safe and systematic shutdown of operations”, while “taking all precautions to minimise the impact to the community and employees”.

石油和天然氣集團?？松梨?ExxonMobil)周日早上表示，洪水導(dǎo)致其位于Baytown的煉油廠出現(xiàn)了“運營問題”，該公司補充稱，煉油廠正在“安全而系統(tǒng)化地關(guān)閉運營”，同時“采取所有預(yù)防措施來盡可能減少對社區(qū)和員工的影響”。

Royal Dutch Shell also said it was starting “a controlled shut down” of its Deer Park refinery and chemical plant as a result of the rainfall and “nearby flooding”. It said only essential personnel would stay on the site until the end of the week.

荷蘭皇家殼牌(Royal Dutch Shell)也表示，由于暴雨和“附近洪水”問題，其位于Deer Park的煉油廠和化工廠開始“受控關(guān)閉”。該公司表示，只有關(guān)鍵員工將留守至本周結(jié)束。

The volume of rainfall had already reached the level of Tropical Storm Allison, which devastated Houston in 2001, the National Weather Service said, and it was still raining.

美國國家氣象局(National Weather Service)表示，降雨量已經(jīng)達到2001年肆虐休斯頓的熱帶風(fēng)暴“埃利森”(Tropical Storm Allison)的水平，而且現(xiàn)在仍在下雨。

The Houston Chronicle reported that five people had died as a result of the flooding overnight, and police said at least 1,000 people had been rescued from the rising waters.

《休斯頓紀(jì)事報》(Houston Chronicle)報道稱，夜間的洪水已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致5人死亡，而警方表示，在水位不斷上漲之際，已營救至少1000人。