经济学人下载:灾难来袭日本,大自然的报复

As the quake lifted the ocean floor, it triggered a tsunami (the word is Japanese) that breached with ease some of what were considered to be Japan’s best coastal defences. As of March 17th the police said at least 14,000 people were dead or missing along the coast, though that fails to account for the tens of thousands who are unreported to the authorities, supposed lost, in places like Rikuzentakata. As many as half a million are in emergency shelters, shivering through a bitterly cold snowstorm that has added to the sense of crisis. Because of damaged roads, petrol shortages and bungling bureaucrats, many lack essentials such as food, water, toilet paper, nappies and kerosene for heating. A shocking number appear to be in their 90s, looked after by people who are themselves grandmothers and grandfathers. Amid the debris in Rikuzentakata, a 62-year-old woman wearing trainers was prodding around for her 94-year-old aunt. The president of a nearby construction company had tried to help the aunt escape, but he too was washed away. Her niece had been searching fruitlessly for her every day since March 12th.

地震使海床升高并由此引发了海啸(该词源于日语)。这次海啸来势凶猛,不费吹灰之力就将日本最好的海岸防备系统破坏殆尽。3月17日警察称沿海地区至少有14000人失踪或死亡,而这其中还不包括陆前高田等地疑似失踪,没有上报政府的人数。近50万人在避难所避难.暴风雪的肆虐之下他们瑟瑟发抖,这更加深了危机过后的悲惨景象。由于道路损毁,石油短缺,政府人员工作拖沓.许多人无法得到如食物,水,手纸,尿布和取暖用的煤油等必须日用品。惊人的是,他们中的许多已年过九旬,而照料他们的子女亲人许多也已身为(外)祖父母。陆前高田的废墟中,一名身穿运动鞋，年届62岁的妇女正在到处寻找她94岁的姑姑。附近一家建筑公司的社长在设法营救这位老人的时候被大水冲走。3月12日以来虽然她每天都在寻找，但却毫无音讯。

Appalling as these people’s plights are, they have been eclipsed for most of the week by fear of an altogether different sort: that of a meltdown in the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear-power plant, some 240km north-east of Tokyo. Nuclear experts say the potential danger to human health from the three stricken reactors has so far been blown out of proportion—especially when set against the wider-spread suffering of the tsunami victims. But there is a gnawing sense that Japan, the only country to have suffered mass radiation from atomic attack (and hence an expert in its consequences for long-term health), may be on the verge of another nuclear nightmare. Inevitably, the latest crisis will renew debate about the wisdom of building nuclear-power plants on such unstable and exposed terrain. Experts, however, can barely imagine Japan meeting its energy needs without them.

灾民的处境令人震惊，同样令人震惊的是本周大部分时间人们都在被另外一种迥然不同的危机所笼罩：东京东北部240公里左右，由于福岛核电站的冷却系统遭到破坏，温度过高的反应堆面临融化的危险。核专家称受损的三座核反应堆给人类健康带来的潜在威胁近段时间被夸大，尤其是在广大难民的悲惨遭遇的衬托之下。更为令人揪心的是，日本，作为唯一一个因原子弹袭击而遭受大范围核辐射的国家（因此在核辐射对长期健康的影响上堪称专家），可能正面临又一场核噩梦。这次危机会不可避免地掀起新的一轮讨论，议题就是在日本这样一个不稳定而又轻易暴露于灾难之下的地方修建核电站是否可行。但专家很难想象如果没有核电站，日本的能源需求要怎样得到满足。

A government under siege四面楚歌的政府
The palpable fear of the unknown can be heard in the words of Katsunobu Sakurai, the mayor of Minamisoma. His town straddles the 20km exclusion zone surrounding the Fukushima plant, as well as the 30km circle in which as many as 136,000 people are being urged to stay indoors to avoid radiation. Speaking by telephone to NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, on March 16th, he said that people were now “trying their best to stay calm”, but many would flee the area altogether if they could only find fuel to make the journey. He said the most basic supplies were running short because outsiders were not willing to transport them to the danger zone. Whenever he is interviewed, he begs the government for help.

从南相马市长胜信樱井的话语中我们很容易感受到人们对于未来的担忧。他所在的小镇坐落在福岛核电站周围20公里的隔离区内。以福岛核电站为中心，半径30公里区域内的13万6千名居民都受到警告要待在家中，避免辐射。3月16日在与日本国家广播公司NHK（日本放送协会）的电话连线中，他说人们正在竭力保持冷静。但是许多人正在寻找燃料逃离这里。他还说，由于人们不愿踏足危险区域，这里许多生活必需品都供应不足。采访中，他请求政府迅速对这里进行救援。