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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
31 January 2007
Disasters are a part of life, whether natural catastrophes1, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, or man-made disasters, including terrorism. Mike O'Sullivan reports, business and community leaders who met in Los Angeles say the key to survival in either case is preparedness.
People have always contended with tsunamis3, earthquakes and other disasters. Today they face the threat of terrorism. Business and civic4 leaders recently shared ideas on emergency preparations, at a forum5 sponsored by the group Town Hall Los Angeles.
Ellis Stanley
Ellis Stanley of the city's office of emergency preparedness says it all starts with individuals.
"We realize that in major disasters, especially something like a catastrophic earthquake in California, if you cannot get to us and we cannot get to you, it is incumbent6 on that individual to have supplies to be able to take care of themselves those first critical hours," he said.
He says every school, business and family needs an emergency plan.
Yossi Sheffi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says terrorism and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, take a human toll7, but their economic impact is not as serious as many people think.
Yossi Sheffi
"Among real terrorism professionals, the most dangerous thing is not a dirty bomb or 9/11 or London subway or Madrid subway," he noted8. "If you look at the economic impact of any of those, they are negligible on the GDP, including 9/11, even Katrina. The most dangerous thing is an attack when the organization under attack doesn't know that they are under attack until it is too late."
He says a biological attack or an epidemic9 can be far more dangerous if the infection takes hold before people realize it.
Public health authorities monitor the incidence of disease to look for unusual patterns, and Skip Skivington of Kaiser Permanente, a major healthcare provider, says his hospitals are preparing for a widespread epidemic. He says the H5N1 virus, which has infected both birds and humans, could trigger one.
"We have done a lot of things internally to understand the disease and understand how that would impact our operations, and try to match our operations with the outbreak, should it occur," he said.
Roche Pharmaceuticals10 makes life-saving cancer and AIDS drugs, and anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients. Roche also makes Tamiflu, and has expanded its production of that antiviral used to treat influenza11. Mike McGuire, Roche vice12 president for anti-infectives, says the company has an emergency plan in place.
"All of our sites are equipped with satellite phones, secure video linkups," he said. "We have plans in place. We have already stockpiled the parts or equipment for machines. Should something happen and we couldn't get a part from a vendor13, we knew we would have enough to carry us through for another year. "
He says that in an emergency, essential companies in communications, energy and transportation also need to keep operating.
Harbors and ports are vital arteries14 for commerce, and are possible targets for a terrorist attack. Shawn James of Lockheed Martin Homeland Security Systems says security is important, but that in any disaster, essential goods must be kept flowing.
"Because if you over-screen or over-scan or over-inspect, the potential is there that you could really impede15 that velocity16 of commerce and have an impact on the economy," he explained.
Mark Ward17
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) helps in the recovery and reconstruction18 of countries struck by disaster. Mark Ward oversaw19 the effort in Asia after the major tsunami2 of 2004. He says people can quickly forget the threats that they face.
"What about 10 years from now," he asked. "Are people going to get complacent20? Are the lessons that we learn today, are those memories going to fade? And what if there's a tsunami the year after that?"
He says national governments and community leaders must stay focused on the risk, and not get complacent.
1 catastrophes | |
n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 );灾难;不幸事件;困难 | |
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2 tsunami | |
n.海啸 | |
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3 tsunamis | |
n.海啸( tsunami的名词复数 ) | |
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4 civic | |
adj.城市的,都市的,市民的,公民的 | |
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5 forum | |
n.论坛,讨论会 | |
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6 incumbent | |
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的 | |
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7 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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8 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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9 epidemic | |
n.流行病;盛行;adj.流行性的,流传极广的 | |
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10 pharmaceuticals | |
n.医药品;药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 ) | |
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11 influenza | |
n.流行性感冒,流感 | |
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12 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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13 vendor | |
n.卖主;小贩 | |
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14 arteries | |
n.动脉( artery的名词复数 );干线,要道 | |
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15 impede | |
v.妨碍,阻碍,阻止 | |
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16 velocity | |
n.速度,速率 | |
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17 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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18 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
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19 oversaw | |
v.监督,监视( oversee的过去式 ) | |
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20 complacent | |
adj.自满的;自鸣得意的 | |
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