澳大利亞遭遇災難性火災 蔓延至悉尼郊區

連日大火肆虐，已使悉尼歌劇院籠罩在濃煙之中。澳大利亞政府部門10日發佈預警，大悉尼地區面臨最高級別的“災難性”火災風險。這是澳大利亞2009年實施新的火災風險等級以來，大悉尼地區首次面臨這一級別的風險預警。

Raging bushfires have razed properties in Australia and briefly spread to suburbs of Sydney, officials say.

澳大利亞當局表示，勢無可擋的森林大火已經將一些房屋夷爲平地，並迅速蔓延到悉尼郊區。

raze [reɪz]：vt.夷爲平地；破壞；拆毀

Scores of fires are still burning in New South Wales amid temperatures of 35C and winds of 80km/h.

新南威爾士州仍有數十處大火在燃燒，氣溫達到35攝氏度，風速達到每小時80公里。

A feared southerly wind change has now occurred but the "catastrophic" day feared has largely been avoided.

風向確如人們擔心的那樣轉爲了南風，不過大家所懼怕的“災難性”一天基本上得以避免。

No deaths were reported on Tuesday but fire chiefs warned that conditions meant the dangers facing the state were far from over.

本週二（11月12日）沒有人員死亡報告，但消防官員警告稱，目前的情況意味着該州面臨的危險遠未結束。

About six million people live in New South Wales (NSW) state.

大約有600萬人居住在新南威爾士州。

消防工作最新進展

The number of fires still afflicting NSW ranged from 100 to 300 in Australian media reports.

據澳大利亞媒體報道，新南威爾士州目前仍有100至300起火災。

Crews have been battling a front spanning 1,000km along the north coast of NSW, with several blazes "exceeding 100,000 hectares alone", officials have said.

消防人員一直在新南威爾士州北部綿延1000公里的前線作戰，有關官員表示，幾場大火“單是着火面積就超過10萬公頃”。

Flame retardant had to be dropped in Sydney's northern suburbs as some bushfires approached within 15km of the city centre.

一些森林大火蔓延至距市中心15公里以內地區，消防人員不得不在悉尼北部郊區投放阻燃劑。

retardant [rɪ'tɑːd(ə)nt]：n. [化學]阻滯劑；抑止劑

Flames came within metres of engulfing the homes of Blake Haymen and Sean Murphy in the affluent suburb.

大火距離布萊克·海門和肖恩·墨菲家所在的郊區富人區只有幾米遠。

The residents were forced to use pool water to tackle a blaze that had spread from dense bushland across the road from their homes.

大火從居民家門前馬路對面的茂密叢林蔓延開來，居民們被迫用游泳池的水滅火。

"We actually ran out of water pressure, so we had to go to the pool. Sean put out a spot-fire with one of these buckets," Mr Haymen told the Sydney Morning Herald.

海門告訴《悉尼先驅晨報》說：“實際情況是，我們的水壓不夠了，所以不得不用游泳池的水。肖恩用其中一個水桶接水撲滅了一處着火點。”

New South Wales Rural Fire Service firefighters are seen fighting fires on Long Gully Road in the northern New South Wales town of Drake, Australia, September 9, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

Authorities said one firefighter had suffered a broken arm and suspected fractured ribs.

當地政府表示，一名消防員手臂骨折，肋骨可能也出現骨折。

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said: "We've really got a long way to go. You can guarantee we're not going to be able to get around all of these fires before the next wave of bad weather.

農業消防局局長謝恩·菲茨西蒙斯說：“我們還有很長的路要走。在下一輪惡劣天氣來臨之前，我們肯定無法撲滅所有這些火災。”

"Unfortunately there's no meaningful reprieve. There's no rainfall in this change and we're going to continue to have warm dry conditions dominating in the days and weeks ahead."

“不幸的是，情況沒有任何緩解的跡象。沒有降雨，在未來幾天至幾周內，天氣仍將炎熱乾燥。”

Commissioner Fitzsimmons said up to a dozen homes were believed to have been damaged or destroyed on Tuesday.

菲茨西蒙斯說，本週二（11月12日）有多達12座房屋被損壞或摧毀。

People in vulnerable NSW communities have been urged to stay away from bushland. More than 600 schools are closed across the state.

新南威爾士州受影響社區的人們被敦促遠離叢林地帶。全州有600多所學校停課。

Australia's conservative government has refused to be drawn on whether climate change could have contributed to the fires, in a response that has drawn criticism.

澳大利亞保守派政府拒絕透露氣候變化是否可能導致了火災，這一回應招致了批評。

Thomas Eveans holds melted aluminum as he inspects the remains of his house which was destroyed by a bushfire in Torrington, near Glen Innes, Australia, on Monday. Reuters

火災有多嚴重？

Three people have died and more than 170 properties have been destroyed since the fire emergency intensified in NSW on Friday.

自上週五（11月8日）新南威爾士州的火災緊急情況加劇以來，已有3人死亡，170多座房屋被毀。

Authorities had said they were facing what could be "the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen".

當地政府表示，他們面臨的可能是“本國有史以來最危險的森林大火周”。

Mr Fitzsimmons said 3,000 firefighters were on the front lines, boosted by crews from other states and New Zealand, as well as the Australian Defence Force.

菲茨西蒙斯表示，前線有3000名消防員，還有來自其他州、新西蘭以及澳大利亞國防軍的支援。

Experts have compared the situation to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, when 173 people died.

專家們稱這一情況堪比2009年維多利亞州“黑色星期六”的森林大火，那次火災造成173人死亡。

Police are investigating reports that a fire in North Rothbury, in the Hunter Region of NSW, and at least two others, may have been started deliberately.

有報告稱，新南威爾士州獵人區北羅斯伯裏的一場火災以及至少另外兩場火災可能是蓄意縱火，警方正在對此進行調查。

Fire authorities say a million hectares of land have burned in NSW since the fire season began in September.

消防部門表示，自9月份火災季節開始以來，新南威爾士州已有100萬公頃土地遭遇火情。

Hoping to return home, Wytaliba resident Storm Sparks holds her son Zeke Bacon as she waits at a roadblock near Glen Innes in New South Wales, Australia, on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]

其他州情況如何？

To the north, Queensland has also declared a state of emergency as 55 bushfires rage in the state.

北部的昆士蘭州也宣佈進入緊急狀態，該州有55起森林大火。

Though it was not facing such severe weather on Tuesday, officials warned conditions could deteriorate later in the week.

儘管本週二（11月12日）昆州沒有遭遇如此惡劣的天氣，但官員們警告稱，本週晚些時候情況可能會惡化。

Fire crews in South Australia were tacking about a dozen blazes, while bushfires in Western Australia also sparked emergency warnings.

南澳大利亞州的消防人員正在撲滅十幾起大火，而西澳大利亞州的森林大火也引發了緊急警報。

A jogger is seen in Blackwattle Bay as smoke haze drifts over the CBD in Sydney, Australia, on Oct 31, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

與氣候變化有關嗎？

Scientists and experts warn that Australia's fire season has grown longer and more intense due to climate change.

科學家和專家警告說，由於氣候變化，澳大利亞的火災季節變得更長、更嚴重。

Officials have confirmed that 2018 and 2017 were Australia's third and fourth-hottest years on record respectively, and last year the nation experienced its warmest summer on record.

官員們已經證實，2018年和2017年分別是澳大利亞有記錄以來第三和第四最熱的年份，去年澳大利亞經歷了有記錄以來最熱的夏天。

The Bureau of Meteorology's State of the Climate 2018 report said climate change had led to an increase in extreme heat events and raised the severity of other natural disasters, such as drought.

氣象局發佈的《2018年氣候狀況報告》稱，氣候變化導致極端高溫事件增加，乾旱等其他自然災害的嚴重程度也隨之提高。

Even if global temperatures are contained to a 2C rise above pre-industrial levels - a limit set out in the landmark Paris accord, agreed by 188 nations in 2015 - scientists believe the country is facing a dangerous new normal.

2015年，188個國家簽署了具有里程碑意義的《巴黎協定》，規定與前工業化時期相比，全球氣溫升幅不得超過2攝氏度。即便如此，科學家們仍認爲，澳大利亞正面臨危險的新常態。

Last year, a UN report said Australia was falling short in efforts to cut its CO2 emissions.

去年，一份聯合國報告稱，澳大利亞在減少二氧化碳排放方面做得不夠。