Hurricane Irma
The hurricane made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean earlier on Wednesday and is possibly headed for Florida this weekend. Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history. Officials warned people and urged them to seek protection. Many homes on Barbuda and the neighboring island Antigua are not build on a concrete foundation.
The National Weather Service predicted severe damage and life-threatening hazards beginning on Wednesday. There will be wind damage, heavy rains, possibly flooding and storm surges. The hurricane is expected to cause widespread communication and power outages, uprooted trees, inaccessible roads and bridges and complete roof and wall failures.
States of emergency have been issued all over Florida and across the eastern Caribbean. The Navy ordered the evacuation of all non-essential personnel. Schools were stocked with supplies for refugees, gas stations were overrun and people formed long lines to buy bottled water, flashlights and batteries. Tropical storm-force winds could reach southern Florida at the weekend but the path hurricane Irma will take cannot be predicted. The president approved an emergency declaration freeing up federal money for preparations against the coming storm.
Landfall (lændfɔ:l) – die Küste erreichen, auf Land treffen
possibly (ˈpɒsəbli) – möglicherweise, wahrscheinlich
to head (hed) – in eine best. Richtung gehen, sich bewegen
official (əˈfɪʃəl) – die Amtsperson, Beamte(r)
to seek (si:k) – jdn/etw suchen
protection (prəˈtekʃən) – der Schutz
concrete (ˈkɒŋkri:t) – Beton-
foundation (ˌfaʊnˈdeɪʃən) – das Fundament
to predict (prɪˈdɪkt) – etw vorhersagen, voraussagen
severe (səˈvɪəʳ) – schwer, schlimm
hazard (ˈhæzəd) – die Gefahr, das Risiko
surge (sɜ:ʤ) – die Flutwelle
widespread (waɪdspred) – weit verbreitet
outage (ˈaʊtɪʤ) – der Ausfall
to uproot (ʌpˈru:t) – entwurzeln, herausreissen
inaccessible (ˌɪnəkˈsesəbl̩) – unzugänglich
failure (ˈfeɪljəʳ) – das Scheitern, Versagen
to issue (ˈɪʃu:) – etw erlassen, aufstellen
non-essential (ˌnɒn-ɪˈsen(t)ʃəl) – nicht wesentlich, nicht unbedingt nötig
to stock (stɒk) – Vorräte auffüllen
to supply (səˈplaɪ) – für etw sorgen, bereitstellen
refugee (ˌrefjʊˈʤi:) – der Flüchtling
gas station (gæs ˈsteɪʃən) – die Tankstelle
flashlight (flæʃlaɪt) – die Taschenlampe
storm-force (stɔ:m-fɔ:s) – Sturmwinde
to reach (ri:tʃ) – etw erreichen
path (pɑ:θ) – der Weg, der Pfad
declaration (ˌdekləˈreɪʃən) – die Erklärung
federal (ˈfedərəl) – Bundes-
Europe migrant crisis
The EU´s top court rejected a challenge by eastern European countries to migrant relocation. The deal was drawn up at the peak of the crisis in 2015 but Hungary and Slovenia objected to the compulsory fixed-quota scheme. Hungary even built an anti-migrant fence on its southern border with Serbia and has not accepted a single asylum seeker since then. The Hungarian government appealed to the European Commission to pay half of the cost for the fence, which they refused.
The scheme was an attempt to relieve countries such as Italy and Greece. It is binding for all EU-members, whether they voted for it or not. 125.989 migrants arrived in Europe via Mediterranean in 2017. Since the quota scheme came into effect less than 28.000 people have been relocated instead of the planned 160.000. The Commission might now turn to the European Court of Justice to punish those who refuse mandatory quotas.
to reject (rɪˈʤekt) – etw ablehnen
migrant (ˈmaɪgrənt) – der Zuwanderer
relocation (ˌri:lə(ʊ)ˈkeɪʃən) – die Verlegung, Umseidlung
to draw up (drɔ: drɔ:) – etw aufstellen
peak (pi:k) – der Gipfel, Höhepunkt
to object (əbˈʤekt) – dagegen sein, Einwände haben
compulsory (kəmˈpʌlsəri) – verpflichtend
fence (fen(t)s) – der Zaun
to appeal (əˈpi:l) – etw ansprechen, um etw bitten
to refuse (rɪˈfju:z) – ablehnen, verweigern
attempt (əˈtem(p)t) – der Versuch
to relieve (rɪˈli:v) – entlasten
to punish (ˈpʌnɪʃ) – bestrafen
mandatory (ˈmændətəri) – gesetzlich vorgschrieben