阿尔穆德纳·卡拉特拉瓦 布宜诺斯艾利斯，阿根廷 — — 受厄尔尼诺现象影响的强降雨导致河流水位上涨，周五继续冲毁阿根廷、巴拉圭和乌拉圭的广大地区，迫使数千人离家逃离，牧场主们争分夺秒地将牛群转移到高地。
ALMUDENA CALATRAVA BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Rivers swollen by heavy rains linked to El Niño continued flooding swaths of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on Friday, forcing thousands of people from their homes and sending ranchers scrambling to move cattle to higher ground.
在阿根廷东北部科连特斯省，伊图萨因戈镇的巴拉那河周四涨至危险的4.7米（15.4英尺），促使该镇及全省其他城镇展开疏散。牧场主们引导牛群涉水穿过被淹的牧场，奔向干燥地区。牛犊在漂浮着河草絮状物的急流中艰难前行。省级官员表示，他们正在挖掘运河和安装排水设施，以应对可能到来的更强降雨。
In Argentina’s northeastern Corrientes province, the Paraná River rose to a dangerous 4.7 meters (15.4 feet) on Thursday in the riverside town of Ituzaingó, prompting evacuations there and in other towns across the province. Herds of cows waded across flooded pastures as ranchers guided them toward dry land. The calves struggled against a current thick with floating clumps of river plants. Provincial officials said they were digging canals and installing drains to prepare for more heavy rain.
这些洪水源自巴西境内发源、向南流经该地区的三条主要河流：巴拉那河、乌拉圭河和伊瓜苏河。连日的暴雨使这三条河流水位持续上升，在阿根廷东北部、巴拉圭南部和乌拉圭西部地区决堤外溢。
The floodwaters come from three major rivers that start in Brazil and flow south through the region: the Paraná, the Uruguay and the Iguazú. Torrential rain has pushed all three waterways higher for days, spilling them over their banks in northeastern Argentina, southern Paraguay and western Uruguay.
厄尔尼诺现象是一种自然气候现象，此时太平洋海水温度高于平常，会扰乱全球天气模式，南美洲这一地区在厄尔尼诺期间常会出现强降雨。预报员称今年的厄尔尼诺可能是有记录以来最强的之一，其影响已遍及南美洲乃至更远地区——从墨西哥太平洋沿岸异常活跃的飓风季节，到东南亚面临的严重干旱威胁。
This part of South America often gets heavy rain during El Niño , a natural climate phenomenon in which warmer-than-usual waters in the Pacific Ocean scramble weather patterns around the world. Forecasters say this year’s could be among the strongest on record, and its effects are already being felt across South America and far beyond, from an unusually stormy hurricane season off Mexico’s Pacific coast to the threat of severe drought in Southeast Asia.
巴拉圭是近期洪水导致疏散人数最多的国家。在位于巴拉那河对岸、相对伊图萨因戈镇的边境城市阿约拉斯，超过2000人已离家逃离，市长卡洛斯·杜阿尔特周五在当地广播电台如此透露。他表示，该地河水水位已超过四十年来最高，且可能继续上涨。
Paraguay has seen the most evacuations from the recent floods. In the border city of Ayolas, across the Paraná River from Ituzaingó, more than 2,000 people have fled their homes, Mayor Carlos Duarte told a local radio station Friday. He said the river had reached its highest level there in more than four decades and could rise further.
洪水还袭击了南美洲最大的旅游景点之一。在阿根廷与巴西边境的伊瓜苏瀑布，由于伊瓜苏河水位上升，园区当局关闭了通往魔鬼咽喉的步道——魔鬼咽喉是该瀑布群中最大、最壮观的瀑布。此前几天关闭的其他步道已经重新开放。
The flooding has also hit one of South America’s biggest tourist attractions. At Iguazu Falls, the waterfalls on Argentina’s border with Brazil, park authorities have closed the walkway to the Devil’s Throat, the largest and most dramatic of the cascades, because of the high Iguazú River. Other trails that were shut in recent days have reopened.
在乌拉圭，乌拉圭与阿根廷共享的萨尔托格兰德水电大坝已逐步开启闸门，以缓解乌拉圭河水位上升，导致下游城市部分地区被淹。仍有数十人无法返回家中。
In Uruguay, the Salto Grande hydroelectric dam, which the country shares with Argentina, has gradually opened its gates to relieve the rising Uruguay River, flooding parts of cities downstream. Several dozen people remain out of their homes.
更多降雨即将到来。乌拉圭官员警告称，该国饱受降雨侵袭的西北地区在未来几个月将迎来全年最强降雨。在南巴西，帕拉那河、乌拉圭河和伊瓜苏河的发源地，国家气象服务预计降雨量将在12月之前保持在平均水平以上。
More rain is on the way. Uruguayan officials have warned that the country’s drenched northwest will get its heaviest rain of the year in the coming months. In southern Brazil, where the rising Paraná, Uruguay and Iguazú rivers originate, the national weather service expects above-average rainfall through December.