NPR News:奥巴马视察路易斯安那州洪水灾区 承诺协助灾后重建

President Obama toured a flood-soaked neighborhood in East Baton Rouge today. He promised residents they won't be forgotten. More than 100,000 people in Louisiana have applied for federal help after deadly storms that dumped a year's worth of rain in just a few days, swamping a large part of the state. Obama's visit comes after some criticism he didn't cut his vacation short to go to Baton Rouge and also follows a trip by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to the city. NPR's Scott Horsley was with the president today, and he's with us now. Hi there, Scott.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Kelly.
MCEVERS: So what did the president see today?
HORSLEY: President Obama toured a subdivision in the East Baton Rouge Parish called Castle Place. That's a tidy neighborhood of single-story brick houses. And two weeks ago, it was inundated with 4 to 6 feet of water. Today, outside each house there was a pile of saturated carpeting, drywall, soiled furniture, other belongings. But as he walked along that street, the president talked to victims, and he found some reason for encouragement. He heard from neighbors who were helping neighbors saying they're determined to overcome this. The president said we've seen in the past how resilient Louisiana residents are, and he's confident they will rebuild again.
MCEVERS: President Obama tried to reassure flood victims that the federal government will stand behind them during this recovery. What did he mean by that?
HORSLEY: Well, the scale of this disaster, Kelly, is really striking. I mean, 100,000-plus people have applied for federal disaster aid. Some 60,000 homes have been damaged. Already FEMA has OK'd $120 million worth of short-term disaster relief. But that's just the beginning. And this cleanup, the president said, is going to take a lot of time and a lot of resources.
今天，奥巴马总统前往巴吞鲁日东部被洪水侵袭的社区视察。他向当地居民承诺，他们不会被遗忘。路易斯安那州已有超过10万名居民申请了联邦救助，致命暴雨使路易斯安那州几天内的降雨量达到了年降雨量的水平，并导致该州大部分地区被淹。此前，奥巴马因没有缩短假期前往巴吞鲁日视察而被饱受指责，另外共和党总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普已经先于奥巴马前往巴吞鲁日。NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利追踪报道了总统今天的视察情况，他现在将和我们连线。你好，斯科特。
斯科特·霍斯利连线：你好，凯莉。
麦克弗斯：总统今天视察了哪些地方？
霍斯利：奥巴马总统视察了巴吞鲁日东部教区的Castle Place。这是一个由单层砖房组成的整洁社区。两个星期以前，这里的积水达到4至6英尺。今天，每座房子外面都堆着湿透的地毯、石膏板、带有污渍的家具和其他物品。但是，总统沿着街道视察并和受灾民众谈话后，他发现了鼓舞人心的情况。他听说邻里之间互相帮助，民众决心战胜这场灾难。总统说，之前我们已经看到了路易斯安那州居民的韧性，他相信他们会再次重建家园。
麦克弗斯：奥巴马总统尽力安抚洪灾受害者，他说联邦政府会在恢复期间一直支持他们。这是什么意思？
霍斯利：凯莉，这场洪灾的规模非常惊人。超过10万人申请了联邦救助。约6万座房屋被毁。联邦紧急事务管理局已经批准了1.2亿美元的短期救灾款。但是这仅仅是开始。总统表示，清洁工作需要投入大量时间和资源。

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PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Sometimes when these kinds of things happen, it can seem a little bit too much to bear. But what I want the people of Louisiana to know is that you're not alone on this. Even after the TV cameras leave, the whole country is going to continue to support you and help you until we get folks back in their homes and lives are rebuilt.
HORSLEY: And that's important because most of the victims here were not insured for flood damage.
MCEVERS: A disaster like this can be politically difficult for a president, right? I mean, we all remember how, you know, President George W. Bush at the time — his approval rating suffered after Hurricane Katrina and the federal response that was widely seen as inadequate. What's at stake for Obama politically?
HORSLEY: Well, as you mentioned, he's already gotten some criticism for not cutting short his family vacation last week to visit this area sooner. Donald Trump was here last week. Aides say Obama was getting regular updates while he was in Martha's Vineyard, and he did dispatch his homeland security secretary to Louisiana as well as the FEMA chief, Craig Fugate. The president was accompanied by Fugate this afternoon. He says one of the advantages of being in the waning months of his presidency is he doesn't have to worry much about politics.
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OBAMA: I guarantee you nobody on this block, none those first responders — nobody gives a hoot whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. What they care about is making sure they're getting the drywall out and the carpet out and there's not any mold building, they get some contractors in here and they start rebuilding as quick as possible. That's what they care about. That's what I care about.
HORSLEY: While he's in Louisiana, though, the president will wade into another politically dicey area. He's meeting with the family of Alton Sterling, the African-American man who was shot and killed this summer by police in Baton Rouge, as well as the families of some Baton Rouge-area law officers who were killed or wounded in that subsequent ambush.
MCEVERS: That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Thanks a lot, Scott.
HORSLEY: My pleasure, Kelly.
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巴拉克·奥巴马总统：当这种情况发生时，看起来有些难以接受。但是我希望路易斯安那州民众知道，你们不是在独自应对。在电视摄像机离开之后，整个国家也将继续支持、帮助你们，直到大家重回家园、生活得到重建。
霍斯利：这点很重要，因为大部分受灾民众都没有投保洪水灾害险。
麦克弗斯：从政治上来说，总统很难应对这种灾难，是吧？我们都记得，当时卡特里娜飓风来袭后，乔治·布什总统的支持率猛跌，联邦应急措施也被广泛视为应对不力。从政治上讲，哪些情况会对奥巴马产生影响？
霍斯利：如你所说，上周他因为没有缩短和家人的假期、没能尽快前往灾区而遭受批评。唐纳德·特朗普已于上周率先来到这里。总统助手表示，奥巴马在漫沙文雅岛度假时也在关注灾情的最新进展，而且他已经派国土安全部部长和联邦紧急事务管理局局长克雷格·福吉特前往灾区。今天下午，总统在福吉特的陪同下视察了灾区。他表示，任期还剩最后几个月有个好处，那也就是他不用太担心政治问题。
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奥巴马：我向你们保证，这个街区的人还有现场急救员，没有人在乎你们是民主党人还是共和党人。他们在意的是确保将石膏板和地毯拿出来，确保大楼不会被霉菌侵袭，他们带来了一些承包商，他们会尽快开始重建工作。这是他们所关心的事情。这也是我所关心的事情。
霍斯利：但是，总统在路易斯安那州期间还将前往另一个政治不确定地区。他将同埃尔顿·斯特林的家人会面，斯特林是非洲裔美国人，今年夏天在巴吞鲁日被警察枪杀，那起枪杀案后巴吞鲁日发生了袭击执法人员的事件，总统还将同遇袭警察的家属会面。
麦克弗斯：以上是NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利带来的报道。非常感谢你，斯科特。
霍斯利：不客气，凯莉。