It came with devastating force,a natural disaster of strange intensity that shocked the world and killed tens of thousands.The waters have now receded,but disease and food and water shortages trouble a number of countries around the Indian Ocean.Millions of survivors face serious problems.
The number of survivors in need of food aid after the Indian Ocean disaster has climbed to 5 million people.They stretch from Somalia to Thailand,and the figure could rise further,the United Nations has said.
Relief teams hope to reach all of the estimated 700 000 hungry in Sri Lanka within three more days.It could take longer before enough food aid gets to the nearly 1 million people in need in hard-to-reach parts of Indonesia.Another serious problem is the need for purified water.
Although aid had poured in from all over the world to the disaster areas,“Logistics is the big problem here—just getting the stuff out to people who need it,”said Ron Libby,emergency management specialist at the USA agency for International Development.
Relief efforts are hindered by the difficulty of delivering aid to the more than 1000 islands scattered across hundreds of kilometers of ocean.
For those who survived the tsunami's force,disease is now the No.1 problem.Five million people are short of water,food and basic sanitation across the region.World Health Organization(WHO) crisis chief David Navarro said 50 000 more people could die from disease and other causes,as has been the case in previous humanitarian emergencies.
WHO said it had already received a handful of reports of malaria(瘧疾) and dengue fever(登革熱) and hundreds of reports of diarrhea(腹瀉) and infected wounds.It said millions of water purification tablets had been sent to Asia,along with sanitation engineers to rebuild water sanitation infrastructure.
Psychologists are warning that mental health problems caused by the tsunami could prove harder to resolve than the physical damage.
Some survivors say they are plagued by recurring nightmares about walls of water.Many locals are afraid to return to beachside homes.Officials also warn that suicide rates could rise dramatically as parents struggle with guilt at losing children.
Psychologists estimate that 20 to 30 per cent of people who face traumatic events eventually develop symptoms,such as alcohol abuse,lack of concentration at work and an inability to develop close relationships.
Although the Thai Government has offered to build temporary beachside housing,many refugee families are refusing to come down from the hills.Others are afraid to go back to jobs on the sea.
Over 150 000 people were killed by the tsunami,but hundreds and thousands more have been left with no means to earn a living.
In the village of Akirapettai in India,all that is left is the twisted wreckage of the fishing fleet.Dakshina Murti,a fisherman,not only lost three family members,but also lost his boats,his nets,everything.
“Everything's gone,”he says.With no government aid so far,all he has is a wreck.There are several million people who suffered the same experience.Homes have been destroyed,as well as wharves,docks,and sheds.
For now,rebuilding the economy remains a distant concept.
小題1:This passage is mainly about _________that happened around the Indian Oceans.
| A．the causes of the tsunami | B．the result after the tsunami |
| C．the sign of the tsunami | D．the warning of the tsunami |
小題2:According to what the United Nations has said,the number of survivors in need of food aid after the disaster _________.
| A．is not more than 5 million | B．is less than 5 million |
| C．has reached 5 million | D．won't reach 5 million |
小題3:From the passage we learn that _________ is the most serious problem for the time being.
| A．disease | B．food | C．water | D．house |
小題4:The passage tells us that such a disaster,as tsunami will cause diseases and _________ as well.
| A．Dengue fever | B．diarrhea | C．Malaria | D．mental health problem |
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