CNN news 2014-05-06 加文本

cnn news 2014-05-06

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: Seventy-five million people. That`s how many in the eastern U.S. had some risk of severe weather yesterday. That`s what first up this Wednesday on cnn STUDENT NEWS. Parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were raked by suspected tornadoes. The storms killed at least 17 people in those three states, in addition to those who died in the central U.S. earlier this week. In Louisville, a logging town in east Mississippi, the damage from twisters was severe. Same thing in Tupelo, in the northeastern part of the state. A newspaper reporter there said that some buildings were just wiped away. A woman whose home was destroyed said that it hurts to look and not be able to come home, but that she was grateful that her dog survived and wasn`t hurt.

Forecasters are getting better at predicting these storms, sometimes as much as a day in advance. Communications are also improving. Radio warnings, news casts, social media posts are all helping save lives. But not everyone has a safe place to go to. Like an underground basement or a hardened safe room. So challenges remain.

JOHN COATES, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: From my experience, it`s the worst that I`ve experienced, but again, we just have to make it happen, and that`s the IOC`s approach.

We haven`t had to, as an IOC, send people - like this before. We`ve been struggling to get them to understand the problem. Test events are starting this year, and yet in the test event department, these two people working.

AZUZ: OK. That was the vice president of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. He is saying that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is way behind in preparing for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. Any city planning to host the Olympics is subject to scrutiny. Will construction be done on time, will the area be safe? We heard concerns about Sochi, London, Beijing and now Rio. But the IOC say says it`s having to take a more hands-on approach this time around. There have been delays, communications problems, skyrocketing costs and Rio is hosting the World Cup Tournament this summer. So it`s been preparing for that, too. The city`s mayor says there`s no reason for concern about the Olympics, and Rio organizers say Brazil is spending almost $11 billion to make sure everything comes together. This will be the first Olympics ever held in South America.

As Rio scrambles to prepare and reassure future tourists that it`s worth the trip, a Mexican city is working to lure tourists back. We are taking you to Puerto Vallarta, a resort in Mexico`s Pacific Coast, a heaven for fishing, golf and sunbathing. It`s been hit by a recession, sickness and concerns about the Mexican drug war, but it says that violence is hundreds of miles away.

RAFAEL ROMO, cnn CORRESPONDENT: Where they are parasailing Pacific Ocean or taking a tour on a historic ship on a beautiful afternoon, or dancing through the night at a trendy dance club, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico seems to always be in the party mood.

CARLOS GERARD-GUZMAN, PUERTO VALLARTA TOURISM DIRECTOR: We are not just another beach town.

ROMO: Carlos Gerard-Guzman is a tourism director in Puerto Vallarta, a beach resort on the Mexican Pacific Coast. His job is to revitalize an industry that was all but dead five year ago. Drug violence throughout Mexico had driven away many tourists, and then, in 2009, an influenza scare made a bad situation even worse.

GERARD-GUZMAN: We were basically paralyzed like almost three months with no guests. No cruise ships in three months, and then (INAUDIBLE) with no flights. People were afraid to fly.

ROMO: Many hotels laid off employees and kept a skeleton stuff, some businesses closed down and many wondered whether tourists would ever come back. Recovery has been slow, but promising, thanks to significant investments in promotion in Mexico and abroad. New or renovated infrastructure, like this $2.4 million piers is also part of the plan.