2011年07月18日美國(guó)東部時(shí)間下午12:16
By Stephanie Pappas, OurAmazing Planet Contributor
作者：斯蒂芬妮·帕帕斯（Stephanie Pappas），OurAmazingPlanet網(wǎng)站的投稿者
Intro
導(dǎo)論
From its churning, sometimes stormy atmosphere to its shifting tectonic plates, Earth can be a dangerous place. Earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters killed more than 780,000 people between 2009 and 2009, according to the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat. Millions more were injured or displaced. No one knows how the next decade will shape out, but some areas have more reason to worry than others.
Lake Nyos, Cameroon
喀麥隆的尼奧斯湖（Lake Nyos, Cameroon）
A silent killer lurks beneath the surface of this West African lake. A pocket of magma deep below the lake bed leaks carbon dioxide into the lake above. Under the pressure of 650 feet (200 meters) of water, this carbon dioxide stays dissolved, much like the carbonation in a bottle of soda.
But on the night of August 21, 1986, the water in the lake abruptly turned over, and the now-depressurized carbon dioxide exploded upward like a shaken soft drink. The resulting carbon dioxide cloud rushed downhill, asphyxiating 1,700 people and thousands more animals. In the 15 miles (24 kilometers) of valleys below the lake, almost nothing survived.
然而就在那1986年8月21日的夜里，湖水突然翻騰咆哮，當(dāng)時(shí)減壓的二氧化碳如同搖擺的汽水一樣向上爆炸。所產(chǎn)生的二氧化碳的云層沖向下坡，使1,700多人和數(shù)千只的動(dòng)物窒息而死。在湖下山谷的15英里（24公里）范圍內(nèi)，幾乎沒(méi)有什么動(dòng)物存活了下來(lái)。
Today, pipes are used to siphon carbon dioxide-rich water from the bottom of Lake Nyos. The pipes prevent carbon dioxide buildup, but that doesn't make Lake Nyos entirely safe, said George Kling, a University of Michigan geochemist who was on the team that originally investigated the 1986 disaster.
今天，用管道從尼奧斯湖底抽取含有豐富二氧化碳的湖水。原先調(diào)查1986年這場(chǎng)災(zāi)難的密歇根大學(xué)地球化學(xué)家喬治·克林(George Kling)說(shuō)，管道防止了二氧化碳的積聚，但并不能使尼奧斯湖完全安全。
"We're keeping ahead of the game, but we're not drawing the gas down very quickly," Kling said. "That means that it still is a very dangerous lake."
克林說(shuō)：“我們保持了領(lǐng)先，但我們不可能把氣體抽得非常快”。 “這意味著，尼奧斯湖仍然是個(gè)非常危險(xiǎn)的湖泊。”
Naples, Italy
意大利的那不勒斯（Naples, Italy）
In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius blew its top, burying the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. More than 50 subsequent eruptions and the eerie human-shaped cavities left behind in the volcano's ash haven't dissuaded people from populating the slopes of this volcano by the sea. The city of Naples lies at its base, and up to 650,000 people may live on its slopes, according to Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's civil protection agency. An impending eruption could force the evacuation of more than a million people.
Vesuvius isn't the only active volcano threatening this densely-populated area. The Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy is littered with volcanoes. The most worrisome, according to Bertolaso, is the resort island of Ischia. An eruption there would affect Naples and "could be worse than a hypothetical Vesuvius eruption," Bertolaso said.
維蘇威火山并不是威脅這個(gè)人口稠密地區(qū)的唯一活火山。意大利海岸附近的地中海里散落著火山群。根據(jù)多拉索的看法，最令人擔(dān)憂的是伊斯基亞島（Ischia）等度假島嶼?；鹕奖l(fā)會(huì)影響那不勒斯市，“情況可能會(huì)比假想中的維蘇威火山爆發(fā)更為糟糕”，多拉索說(shuō)。
Miami, Florida
美國(guó)佛羅里達(dá)州的邁阿密（Miami, Florida）
No one can predict where a hurricane will hit next, but south Florida is always a reasonable bet. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the southern tip of Florida can expect more than 60 hurricanes over a 100-year period. And in 2008, sustainability company SustainLane ranked Miami as the most risky city for natural disasters in the United States.
Hurricane destruction in Miami and the nearby Florida Keys is nothing new. In 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane destroyed or damaged every building in downtown Miami and killed at least 373 people, according to the Red Cross. Less than 10 years later, the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 killed 408 people in the Florida Keys. In 1960, Hurricane Donna roared through the Keys and South Florida, bringing with it 11 to 15-foot storm surges.
根據(jù)紅十字會(huì)的信息，颶風(fēng)對(duì)邁阿密和佛羅里達(dá)群島附近的破壞并不是什么新鮮事。 1926年，巨大的邁阿密颶風(fēng)幾乎摧毀了邁阿密市區(qū)的每一幢建筑，至少造成了373人死亡。不到10年，1935年的勞動(dòng)節(jié)颶風(fēng)在佛羅里達(dá)州又殺害了408人。 1960年的唐娜颶風(fēng)呼嘯地通過(guò)佛羅里達(dá)群島及南佛羅里達(dá)州，并帶來(lái)高達(dá)11到15英尺的風(fēng)暴潮。
Perhaps the most famous hurricane to hit south Florida was 1992's Hurricane Andrew. Andrew blasted through Florida as a Category 4 storm with winds so high they broke measurement instruments. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Andrew killed 23 people in the United States. The destruction totaled more than $26.5 billion.
也許襲擊佛羅里達(dá)州南部最有名的颶風(fēng)是1992年的安德魯颶風(fēng)。安德魯以4類(lèi)暴風(fēng)雨沖擊和通過(guò)佛羅里達(dá)州，它的風(fēng)力非常之強(qiáng)，甚至打壞了測(cè)量?jī)x器。根據(jù)美國(guó)國(guó)家海洋和大氣管理局，安德魯在殺害了23人。經(jīng)濟(jì)損失的總額超過(guò)了265億美元。
The Sahel region of Africa
非洲的薩赫勒地區(qū)（The Sahel region of Africa)
Drought often doesn't get as much attention as other natural disasters, but it can be a killer. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme, more than 100,000 people died because of drought in the Sahel region of Africa from 1972 to 1984. Another 750,000 were unable to grow their own crops and were completely dependent on food aid.
The arid Sahel region borders the Sahara Desert, stretching across northern Africa through Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Algeria, Ethiopia and Eritrea. According to the U.N., human exploitation of the area's limited water is causing desertification, raising the risk of future drought and famine.
干旱的薩赫勒地區(qū)毗連著撒哈拉大沙漠，該沙漠通過(guò)毛里塔尼亞、塞內(nèi)加爾、馬里、尼日爾、布基納法索、尼日利亞、乍得、蘇丹、阿爾及利亞、埃塞俄比亞和厄立特里亞延伸橫穿非洲的北部。據(jù)聯(lián)合國(guó)所提供的資料，人類(lèi)開(kāi)采該地區(qū)的水資源有限，造成了土地荒漠化，增加了未來(lái)干旱和饑荒的危險(xiǎn)。
Guatemala
危地馬拉（Guatemala）
Central America gets hit by a triple threat of natural disasters: earthquakes, hurricanes and mudslides.
Along with the western coast of North and South America, Central America lies on the Ring of Fire, a seismically active loop that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Guatemala isn't the only country affected, but it's been hit hard: In 1976, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake killed 23,000 people, according to the USGS. Thanks to the country's mountainous terrain, landslides hampered transportation and rescue efforts.
沿著北美和南美的西部海岸，中美洲位于環(huán)繞太平洋地震活躍圈的火山帶上。據(jù)美國(guó)地質(zhì)調(diào)查局，危地馬拉不是受其影響的唯一國(guó)家，但它卻受到過(guò)重創(chuàng)：1976年7.5級(jí)地震造成23,000人死亡。由于該國(guó)的山區(qū)地形，山體滑坡阻礙了交通運(yùn)輸和救援工作。
The combination of topography and weather can be deadly as well. Heavy rains can saturate hillsides, leading to devastating mudslides. In 2005, the remnants of Hurricane Stan soaked Guatemala, El Salvador and southern Mexico, causing more than 900 mudslides. Entire villages were buried; one, Panabaj, was declared a cemetery after officials gave up hope of excavating the bodies of 300 missing villagers. The exact death toll is unknown, but some estimates suggest that up to 2,000 people lost their lives.
地形和天氣相結(jié)合也可能是很致命的。大雨會(huì)浸透山坡，會(huì)導(dǎo)致毀滅性的泥石流。 2005年，斯坦颶風(fēng)所引起的洪水浸泡了危地馬拉、薩爾瓦多和墨西哥的南部地區(qū)，造成900多個(gè)泥石流。一個(gè)個(gè)村莊被全部埋葬；其中之一的巴拿巴杰(Panabaj)，在官員宣布放棄對(duì)該村莊的300名失蹤村民的尸體發(fā)掘后，公開(kāi)宣布它是一個(gè)墓地。確切的死亡人數(shù)是不知道的，但一些估計(jì)數(shù)字表明，有多達(dá)2,000人喪生。
Java and Sumatra, Indonesia
印度尼西亞的爪哇和蘇門(mén)答臘（Java and Sumatra, Indonesia）
These two Indonesia islands face perhaps more natural disaster hazards than anywhere else. Droughts, floods, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes and tsunamis all threaten Indonesia, and Java and Sumatra have the highest risk, according to the Center for Hazards and Risk Research at Columbia University.
The most famous disaster to hit Indonesia is the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed an estimated 227,898 people after a 9.1-magnitude earthquake triggered the enormous wave. Indonesia was hardest hit among the affected Southeast Asian countries, with over 130,000 people confirmed dead.
印度尼西亞最有名的災(zāi)難是2004年印度洋的海嘯，在9.1級(jí)地震所引發(fā)的巨浪后，估計(jì)有227,898人喪生。印尼是受影響的東南亞國(guó)家中的重災(zāi)區(qū)，證實(shí)死亡的超過(guò)130,000人。
But smaller disasters cause more regular suffering. Between 1907 and 2004 (before the tsunami), droughts killed 9,329 Indonesians, according to the Columbia University group. Volcanoes killed 17,945 people in the same time period, and earthquakes killed 21,856. One of the most famous eruptions in history, of the volcano Krakatoa, occurred in the Sunda Strait between the two islands. And as recently as this February, floods drove thousands of west Java residents from their homes, and a landslide in the village of Tenjolaya killed dozens.
但經(jīng)常有規(guī)模較小的災(zāi)害造成更多的苦難。在1907年和2004年（海嘯前）之間，干旱造成9,329印尼人的死亡，根據(jù)哥倫比亞大學(xué)的研究小組。在同一時(shí)期內(nèi)，火山爆發(fā)殺害了17,945人，地震殺害了21,856人。歷史上一次最有名的火山噴發(fā)——喀拉喀托（Krakatoa）火山爆發(fā)，就發(fā)生在這兩個(gè)群島之間的巽他海峽（Sunda Strait）。最近的今年二月，洪水把數(shù)千名西爪哇居民從他們的家里驅(qū)走，在一個(gè)名叫登佐拉雅（Tenjolaya）村莊里發(fā)生的山體滑坡就殺害了幾十人。
Istanbul, Turkey
土耳其的伊斯坦布爾（Istanbul, Turkey）
No one knows when the North Anatolian Fault will rupture, but one thing is certain: It will rupture. The resulting earthquake could be very bad news for the 12.8 million people in Istanbul.
For the past century, earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault in northern Turkey have been creeping westward. The last big quake happened in 1999, when a 7.6-magnitude temblor devastated the city of Izmit. The official death toll was around 17,000, but a 2004 estimate by University of Brasilia researcher Vasile Marza put the number at 45,000.
上世紀(jì)，土耳其北部的北安納托利亞斷層上的地震已逐漸向西慢慢地移動(dòng)。上次大地震發(fā)生在1999年，當(dāng)時(shí)的這場(chǎng)7.6級(jí)地震摧毀了伊茲米特市(Izmit)。官方公布的死亡人數(shù)是17,000左右，然而2004年巴西利亞大學(xué)的研究員瓦西嗎咋（Vasile Marza）估計(jì)死亡人數(shù)達(dá)到了45,000。
The next time the ground shakes, scientists expect that it will be even further west, just south Istanbul. A January 2010 study in the journal Nature Geosciences found that tensions along the fault are building and could trigger multiple small-to-moderate quakes. Or the fault could go all at once. In March, USGS geophysicist Tom Parsons told Nature that the chances of Istanbul being hit by a magnitude 7 or greater quake in the next 25 years are between 30 and 60 percent.
科學(xué)家們預(yù)計(jì)，下一次地面搖晃將發(fā)生在進(jìn)一步向西的方向上，正好是在伊斯坦布爾（Istanbul）的南邊。 2010年1月在“自然地質(zhì)科學(xué)”雜志中一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，沿著斷層的張力正在不斷增加，并可能引發(fā)多個(gè)小到中等的地震?；蛘邤鄬訒?huì)立即完全破裂。今年3月，美國(guó)地質(zhì)勘探局的地球物理學(xué)家湯姆·帕森斯（Tom Parsons）告訴“自然”雜志，伊斯坦布爾在未來(lái)25年內(nèi)受7級(jí)或更高級(jí)別地震襲擊的機(jī)率是在30％和60％之間。
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