News Challenge｜Wildfires in the US West, floods in Europe

Oregon wildfire forms ‘fire clouds’ that pose danger below

Smoke and heat from a massive wildfire in southeastern Oregon are creating giant “fire clouds” over the blaze — dangerous columns of smoke and ash that can reach up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) in the sky and are visible from more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away.

pose (v.) 造成

blaze (n.) 烈火

column (n.) 柱

ash (n.) 灰燼

Multiple pyrocumulus clouds have been spotted for four consecutive days, and one of them on the southern flank of the fire partially collapsed Thursday, causing dangerous winds and embers to fall on crews.

multiple (adj.) 數個

pyrocumulus cloud (n.) 火積雲

consecutive (adj.) 連續的、未間斷的

flank (n.) 側面

collapse (v.) 倒塌

ember (n.) 餘火未盡的木塊、煤塊

Rescuers race to prevent more deaths from European floods

Rescue workers across Germany and Belgium rushed Friday to prevent more deaths from some of the Continent’s worst flooding in years as the number of dead surpassed 125 and the search went on for hundreds of missing people.

rush (v.) 匆忙

surpass (v.) 超過

Fueled by days of heavy rain, the floodwaters also left thousands of Germans homeless after their dwellings were destroyed or deemed to be at risk, and elected officials began to worry about the lingering economic effects from lost homes and businesses.

dwelling (n.) 房屋、住所

deem (v.) 認為

lingering (adj.) 持續的、長時間的