評論
打印
That was me in front of our house in Monson, Massachusetts last June.
那個就是我，在麻省的Monson，我們的房子前面，
After an EF3 tornado ripped straight through our town and took parts of our roof off,
一股EF3級龍卷風襲擊了這里，掀翻了我們的屋頂
I decided to stay in Massachusetts instead of pursuing the master's program
我決定留在麻省，而不是去讀碩士
I had moved my boxes home that afternoon for.
那個下午我已把經箱子搬回了家
So, on June 1st we weren't disaster experts, but on June 3rd we started faking it.
6月1號時我們還不是災難專家，但從3號我們就假裝是了
This experience changed our lives.
這段經歷改變了我們的生活
And now we're trying to change the experience.
現在我們要努力去改變它
So tornadoes don't happen in Massachusetts.
龍卷風一般不會襲擊麻省
And I was cleverly standing in the front yard when one came over the hill.
當時我正靈巧地站在前院，一個龍卷風從山丘上刮來
After a lamppost flew by, my family and I sprinted into the basement.
一個路燈桿在身邊飛過，我和家人迅速沖進了地下室
Trees were thrown against the house, the windows exploded.
樹木唄吹向房子,砸碎玻璃
When we finally got out the back door, transformers were burning in the street.
當我們終于從后門出去的時候，一些多變壓器在街上燃燒
So I was here in Boston.
我當時就在波士頓
I'm a PhD student at MIT, and I happen to study atmospheric science.
我是一個MIT的博士生，我碰巧是學大氣環境科學的
Actually it gets weirder.
巧合還不止這些
So I was in the museum of science at the time the tornado hit, playing with the tornado display.
龍卷風來襲的時候，我在科學博物館玩模擬龍卷風的儀器
So I missed her call.
所以我沒接到她的電話
So I get the call from Caitria, I hear the news,
Caitria給我打來電話,告訴了我消息,
and I start tracking the radar online to call the family back when another supercell was forming in their area.
于是我開始在網上觀察雷達圖像，當又一個漏斗云形成的時候，叫家里人回去
And I drove home late that night with batteries and ice.
之后我帶著電池和冰塊連夜開車回家
We live across the street from an historic church that had lost its very iconic steeple in the storm.
我家對面是一個老教堂，它標志性的尖頂被大風吹走了
It had become a community gathering place overnight.
一夜之間成了附近居民的避難所
The town hall and the police department had also suffered direct hits,
市政廳和警察局也遭到破壞
and so people wanting to help or needing information went to the church.
因此需要幫助和消息的人們去了教堂
We walked up to the church because we heard that they had hot meals,
我們去了教堂,因為聽說他們沒飯吃
but when we arrived we found problems.
不過到了那兒卻發現些問題
There were a couple large, sweaty men with chainsaws standing in the center of the church,
有幾個汗津津的壯漢拿著電鋸，站在教堂中間
but nobody knew where to send them because no one knew the extent of the damage yet.
但是沒人知道讓他們去哪里，因為還不知道破壞有多嚴重
And as we watched, they became frustrated and left to go find somebody to help on their own.
我們看著他們很沮喪地離開了，去找一些他們可以幫助的人
So we started organizing.
于是我們開始組織大家
Why? It had to be done. We found Pastor Bob and offered to give the response some infrastructure.
因為總得有人去做。我們找到了Pastor Bob，他主動去幫助修復基礎設施
And then armed with just two laptops and one AirCard, we built a recovery machine.
之后帶著兩個筆記本電腦和一張AirCard (注:AirCard是一種無線網卡)，我們組建了一個重建機器
That was a tornado, and everyone's heading to the church to drop things off and volunteer.
那是個龍卷風，每個人都去教堂去放下些物資,志愿幫助大家
Everyone's donating clothing.
每個人都在捐衣服
We should really inventory the donations that are piling up here.
我們應該把這些捐來的東西儲存起來
Yeah, and we need a hotline. Can you make a Google Voice number?
沒錯，我們需要一條熱線。你能不能弄個谷歌電話的號碼
Yeah, sure. And we need to tell people what not to bring.
沒問題。我們還需要告訴人們不該帶什么
I'll make a Facebook account. Can you print fliers for the neighborhoods?
我去創建一個Facebook帳戶，你能把那些傳單打印出來嗎?
Yeah, but we don't even know what houses are accepting help at this point.
好。不過我們不知到現在哪些房子會接受幫助
We need to canvas and send out volunteers.
我們需要做個調查,然后派出志愿者
We need to tell people what not to bring.
我們需要告訴人們不要帶什么
Hey, there's a news truck. I'll tell them.
看，那兒有個新聞車，我去告訴他們
You got my number off the news?
你是從新聞上看到我號碼的?
We don't need any more freezers.
我們的冷柜已經夠用了
The insurance won't cover it? You need a crew to tar your roof? Six packs of juice boxes arriving in one hour?
保險公司不賠償這個? 你需要一隊人去重新刷你的房頂? 六箱果汁還有一小時就到?
Someone get me Post-its!
誰幫我把便利貼拿來!
And then the rest of the community figured out that we had answers.
后來其余的鄰居們發現我們心里有數
I can donate three water heaters, but someone needs to come pick them up.
我可以捐3個熱水器，不過需要有人來把它們拿走
My car is in my living room.
我的車在客廳里
My boyscout troop would like to rebuild 12 mailboxes.
我的童子軍能做12個郵箱
The puppy's missing, and insurance just doesn't cover the chimneys.
有只小狗不見了,保險公司不擔保煙囪
My church group of 50 would like housing and meals for a week while we repair properties.
我50人的教堂小隊能在大家重建家園時，提供一周的住所和食物
You sent me to that place on Washington Street yesterday, and now I'm covered in poison ivy.
你昨天把我送到華盛頓街的那個地方，現在我渾身都是毒葛
So this is what filled our days.
這些充實了我們的日子
We had to learn how to answer questions quickly and to solve problems in about a minute or less,
我們必須學會如和快速找到方法，然后在1分鐘內解決問題
because otherwise something more urgent would come up, and it just wouldn't get done.
否則會出現更緊急的情況，于是問題永遠解決不了
