メンバーは課題を金曜までに読んで、ノートにも写して「質問を１つ」考えてきて下さい。
今週は「九州北部豪雨」から。
（日本語全訳が欲しい方は [email protected]、Kazueまで）
〜お知らせ〜 各団体が支援を行っており、ネットでカードやTポイントでも募金ができますよ✨
私はセーブ・ザ・チルドレンで募金をしました。
Give top priority to minimizing damage caused by torrential rain in Kyushu
The government and local authorities are urged to swiftly grasp the full extent of the damage and do everything they can to rescue the victims and provide support to people affected by this disaster.
local authorities自治体、are urged to 要請される、swiftly素早く、grasp把握、the full extent 全容
Record-level torrential rain that has hammered northern Kyushu has caused rivers to flood and washed away or inundated many homes.
record-level torrential rain 記録的豪雨
hammerハンマーとんかち（打たれた）、inundated冠水
People have died or remain missing following landslides and other rain-triggered incidents. At one stage, evacuation instructions were issued for about 450,000 people in Fukuoka, Oita and Kumamoto prefectures.
at one stage 一時、 remain残った
“The situation is beyond imagination and very serious,” said Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who was filling in for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while he is overseas, at a Cabinet meeting Thursday. Aso instructed that every resource available be directed to responding to the situation.
Deputy Prime Minister副首相
About 7,800 police officers, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel have started rescue and search operations. A government survey team has also arrived in the affected region. They all should work closely with local governments to rescue people in areas that have been isolated due to severed roads and provide carefully tailored support to evacuated residents.
A government survey team政府の調査団、carefully tailoredきめ細やかな
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued special emergency warnings for heavy rain in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures. In Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, almost 130 millimeters of rain fell in one hour. Rainfall of more than 80 millimeters per hour can make a person feel like the rain is closing in on them.
Meteorological Agency気象庁、special emergency warning 特別警報
In Asakura, rainfall recorded during a 24-hour period to Thursday morning reached about 540 millimeters, more than the city’s monthly rainfall for July during a normal year. This illustrates that torrential rain beyond all imagination fell for an extended period.
monthly rainfall 月間雨量、illustrates that〜が伺える（わかる）、beyond all imagination想像を絶する
Provide accurate information
Even after the rain eases up, the ground is unstable. Vigilance against further landslides must be maintained.
Vigilance警戒 be maintained維持される
A “line-shaped rain system” was the cause of this heavy rain. This system generates a steady stream of cumulonimbus clouds, which produce rain, within an area about 20 kilometers to 50 kilometers across and 50 kilometers to 300 kilometers long. In this case, a band of rain formed along the mountains of northern Kyushu and where the seasonal rain front was located, with the rain front moving southward.
“line-shaped rain system”線状降水量、generates生成する、cumulonimbus clouds積乱雲、seasonal rain front 梅雨前線
Such a rain system caused torrential rain that lashed northern Kyushu five years ago. It also unleashed torrential rain that triggered huge landslides in Hiroshima in 2014 and pounded Kanto and Tohoku in 2015. It is of crucial importance to conduct further research into the mechanism that generates this new phenomenon, which can cause weather disasters.
torrential rain豪雨、unleash繰り出す、of crucial importance 非常に重要な、phenomenon現象
Has not the rising trend in sea surface temperatures due to global warming and other factors been influencing these weather patterns? Some observers have pointed out that an increase in moisture in the atmosphere leads to an increase in torrential rain disasters.
The seasonal rain front hangs over the Japanese archipelago. The meteorological conditions needed for heavy rain to strike the nation are in place. Complacency must be avoided at all costs, even in regions outside Kyushu. People are urged to get in the habit of taking steps to protect themselves, such as by quickly evacuating, based on weather information.
archipelago日本列島、meteorological condition気象条件（状態）、Complacency油断
From Tuesday, the meteorological agency started issuing forecasts that use maps in which areas are color-coded to indicate the level of risk of heavy rain and other conditions. As the Kyushu rain struck shortly after the new system came into operation, it could not fully demonstrate its efficacy.
The provision of accurate information is useful for ensuring the safety of residents. It is essential to have this new system function effectively.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun)
