California Coflagration

A string of wind-driven firestorms across Southern California sent half a million people fleeing their homes through clouds of choking smoke in the most massive evacuation in the state’s history. Flames fanned by hurricane-force winds blackened nearly 1,680 square kilometers, destroying more than 1, 447 homes in their path. The scope of the disaster was also unprecedented in California history as homes and business from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border were reduced to smoldering ruins. Wealthy and impoverished citizens alike were brought together in evacuation centers, quickly set up by Gov.² Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office even before the magnitude of the “perfect firestorm” was apparent.

www.earthweek.com, 2007 (650)

5. Find Russian equivalents to the following word combinations:

World Meteorological Organisation, the U.N. weather agency, wetter-than-normal weather, heavy rainfall, the worst flooding in memory, a series of severe storms, hail the size of tennis balls, the heavy smoke and dust emitted by the volcano, a weaker eruption, wind-driven firestorms, hurricane-force winds.

6. Translate the names of the following nature disasters:

drought, flood, twister, hail, volcano eruption, сoflagration, hurricane, tornado, storm, heavy rainfall, earthquake

7. Find English equivalents to the following word combinations:

во власти самой ужасной засухи, похолодание, редкий торнадо, 6 километров от кратера, одели защитные маски, до взрыва, сообщений о пострадавших не было, масштаб катастрофы, самая масштабная эвакуация в истории штата.

8. Answer the questions:

1.What do climate experts at the U.N. predict? 2. What did Australian tornado damage? 3. Where did a volcano erupt? 4. What did people do to protect themselves during the eruption of the volcano? 5. What happened in Southern California? 6. What was the damage of the conflagration? 6.What did the Gov. of California set up?

9. Read and translate the text:

TEXT 5