紐時賞析／暴雨、洪水侵襲東非 數十萬人流離失所

Torrential Rain and Floods Wreak Havoc Across East Africa

暴雨和洪水嚴重毀損東非

Heavy rains and floods have killed scores of people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others across eastern Africa in recent weeks, governments and the United Nations said, underscoring the intensifying climatic hazards in a politically and economically tumultuous region.

各國政府和聯合國表示，東非近幾周暴雨和洪水已造成許多人死亡和數十萬人流離失所。這凸顯這個政治和經濟動盪地區氣候災害日益加劇。

At least 179 people have been killed in countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, according to the U.N. and government agencies, and some regional authorities believe the figures are most likely higher.

聯合國和政府當局指出，包括衣索比亞、肯亞和索馬利亞至少共有179人死亡，有些政府當局認為這個數字很可能更高。

The torrential rains, which have devastated other nations including Burundi, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda, have affected more than 3 million people in a region that was already reeling from its worst drought in four decades.

暴雨也破壞其他國家，包括蒲隆地、蘇丹、南蘇丹和烏干達，影響超過300萬人。該地區先前已深受40年來最嚴重乾旱影響。

Since 2020, the drought conditions, aggravated by climate change, have decimated crops and livestock and left millions of people hungry and malnourished, and hundreds of children dead.

2020年以來，氣候變遷加劇乾旱使作物和牲畜大量減產，數百萬民眾飢餓和營養不良，數以百計孩童死亡。

The United Nations has attributed the heavier-than-usual rains to two climatic events: the El Nino phenomenon, which originates in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and whose conditions release additional heat into the atmosphere, and a similar phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean Dipole.

聯合國將比往常劇烈的降雨歸因兩個氣候事件：源於赤道太平洋的聖嬰現象，向大氣額外釋放熱量，和被稱為印度洋偶極的類似現象。

The floods have damaged homes, bridges and schools, according to aid agencies, who have warned of an uptick in disease outbreaks, including cholera and malaria.

援助機構指，洪水已破壞房屋、橋梁和學校，警告包括霍亂和瘧疾等疫情加劇。

In Somalia, where the floods have affected 1.7 million people, the government declared a state of emergency in October. The U.N. said the country was facing “once-in-a-century flooding.”

在索馬利亞，洪水影響170萬人，該國政府10月宣布進入緊急狀態。聯合國稱該國正面臨「百年一遇的洪水」。

The floods have so far killed at least 96 people in the country, according to Farhan Jimale, the government spokesperson.

索馬利亞政府發言人吉馬爾說，洪水目前為止造成國內96人死亡。

In Kenya, the heavy downpours have killed more than 60 people, according to the U.N. Thousands of people have been displaced in towns and cities across the west and the northeast, too, while entire neighborhoods were submerged in the coastal county of Mombasa this month, according to the Kenya Red Cross.

聯合國說，在肯亞，暴雨造成超過60人死亡。肯亞紅十字會指出，洪水也造成西部和東北部城鎮數以千計民眾流離失所，本月沿海蒙巴薩縣許多地方整區被淹沒。

Similar devastation has unfolded in neighboring countries including Ethiopia, where the pummeling rain has submerged large portions of land in several regions underwater, according to the U.N.

聯合國還表示，包括衣索比亞等鄰國也發生類似損害，傾盆大雨將多個地區大面積土地淹沒。

Thousands of homes have flooded across Sudan in recent weeks, even as millions flee a seven-month civil war. The rising waters have displaced thousands more in parts of South Sudan, a landlocked nation already burdened by years of violence and malnutrition.

最近幾周，蘇丹各地數千間房屋被洪水淹沒，儘管數百萬人剛逃離一場長達七個月的內戰。水位不斷上升也導致南蘇丹部分地區數千人流離失所。這個內陸國家多年來飽受暴力和營養不良困擾。

文／ Abdi Latif Dahir 譯／羅方妤