1 . For Cruz, who grew up in Peru’s mountainous region of Cuzco, fog represents a massive opportunity. As a boy, he had to hike for more than an hour every day across hills to collect water from the nearest source. But over time, he realized that during the rainy season, droplets of water would gather in the large leaves of banana trees. So one day he and his father tried to build a canal system with the leaves to collect water and it turned out a success. But afterwards, he moved to Lima at the age of 25.

There, shocked by the water shortages and expensive water supply that some of the city’s poorest residents were faced with, Cruz set up El Movimiento Peruanos sin Agua in 2005. The idea was to deploy the method he learned in his hometown on a larger scale, which would provide free, independently sourced and easily accessible water to those who needed it most. He began installing (安装) a traditional fog catcher model developed in the 1980s.

At the highest point of Los Tres Miradores, there is a curious set of large structures that resemble a fleet of ships in the sky. They are so-called “fog catchers”. Netted devices, made of high density Raschel polyethylene and spanning several meters wide, are lined up at the top of a misty mound and linked by a network of tubes that lead to storage containers. The 40 fog catchers there provide enough water for 180 families, whether to bathe, clean, drink or to irrigate crops on small garden patches.

Supporters believe that fog catchers have the potential to improve water supply for communities around the world among the ever-challenging circumstances. German researcher Lummerich says, “They are cheap, easy to construct.” In a world searching for water supply systems, it is one important puzzle piece that can make an essential difference locally.

However, there are some issues. For one, fog catchers require space, which is not always easy to come by in cities, let alone urban slums. At the same time, fog catchers must be properly cleaned and maintained to stay effective. Most crucially, appropriate climate conditions are required. Fog isn’t everywhere.

3 . Every year the start of the Atlantic hurricane season is another reminder for Margarite August that she still doesn’t have a roof.

The 70-year-old retired teacher’s home on the small Caribbean island nation of Dominica was mostly wiped out by hurricane Maria six years ago.

Six years after hurricane Maria, Dominicans like Margarite August still haven’t been able to rehabilitate their homes.

August is not alone. Since Maria, the government of Dominica has built 7,000 new homes—about a quarter of its housing stock-with materials to fight another Category 5 hurricane. They’ve also relocated two communities. But an untold number of the island’s 70,000 or so residents are like August, rebuilding their homes in any way they can afford.

Hurricane Maria is often referred to as a once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Scientists put much of the blame on warming ocean temperatures that could make frequent (频繁的) storms like it.

Maria damaged a terrible 95% of Dominica’s housing stock and 226% of the nation’s GDP. Before the storm, the country’s economy had long struggled since its independence from Great Britain in 1978. Unlike its more famous touristy neighbors along the chain of eastern Caribbean islands it lies on, Dominica is more known for its rugged mountains and jungles (丛林) than white sandy beaches.

The jungle mountains that crash down to the coast are beautiful but disasters visit easily. “I don’t think anybody ever got over Maria,” says Christine John of the Dominica Red Cross. “There are a lot of persons today—if it just starts to rain outside, they get anxious.”

4 . Almost a quarter of the UK’s sea swimmers may not swim in the ocean this year because of sewage (污水) dumping by water companies, according to a poll (民意调查). Sewage was dumped into waters near England’s most celebrated beaches for nearly 8,500 hours last year. And there were 1,504 discharges (排出) in 2022 on beaches supposed to be free from such pollution.

The poll spoke to 2,272 UK adults between 21 and 23 on July. Just over 30% said they typically went sea swimming during the summer, and of these 23% said they would not this year because of sewage dumping by water companies. More than two in five of the regular beachgoers also said they were less likely to visit the British seaside this summer because of sewage discharges.

The Department for Environment says government should allow the Environment Agency to charge unlimited fines on rule-breaking water companies. Fines are currently capped (上限) at £250,000. The Department for Environment has been calling for a sewage tax on annual profits and a ban on bonuses of water company managers. “Coastal communities are at the mercy of water companies who unapologetically discharge raw sewage into popular swimming spots,” Tim Farron, the Department for Environment’s spokesperson said. “The government needs to stop letting water companies off the hook and finally ban these terrible sewage discharges and defend our tourism sector.”

A Water UK spokesperson said standards at beaches had greatly improved since the 1990s but that the industry recognized it had been slow to deal with the harm to our seas caused by sewage overflows. “Over the next seven years, water and sewerage companies plan to spend £10bn—doubling current levels of investment—on sewage treatment,” they said. “As part of this, bathing waters will be among the first to receive funding.”

A civilian rescue team of named Ramunion from Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, with an advance team    1     (consist) of eight experts with rich international earthquake rescue experiences.Thisis    2    first Chinese civilian assistance force sent to Turkey,    3    a series of earthquakes destroyed parts of the region.

The advance team is equipped with    4    (advance) radar life-searching instruments, and other rescue    5    (equip)and a search and rescue canine(犬)．

Deng Boqing, vice chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA),said in an interview that Chinese government     6    (immediate) launched its emergency humanitarian assistance mechanism to provide emergency aid to Turkey and Syria.

China announced 40 million yuan ($5.8 million) of emergency assistance to Turkey and the dispatch of a rescue and medical team. It will also provide Syria           7    emergency aid, according to the CIDCA.

Chinese    8    (citizen) in Turkey have volunteered for disaster relief, and relief materials including tents, sleeping bags and blankets     9    (expect)to be distributed on Tuesday.

More than 4,000 people have been killed and nearly 20,000 people injured after two    10    (power) earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria, according to media reports.

Caught in a flood

Mary and her parents were downstairs in the living room. Mary was looking through the windows at the endless rain outside. It had been raining non-stop for three days. She had never seen a storm this bad. It was making her nervous. The wind roared and the rain beat on the roof and windows. Dad was listening to a weather report on the radio, while Mum was putting their important documents and disaster supplies into a bag.

“Mum, Dad,” said Mary suddenly, “I think we should leave here right away!”

“No,” said Dad. “It’s too late: The radio says the city has already been flooded.”

“We can drive our car through the floodwater. Let’s us leave! I’m really scared!” cried Mary. “We can’t do that, honey,” explained Mum, “otherwise the moving water could wash the car away!”

Mary walked to the door. She was curious to see how much water there was outside.

“Don’t open the door!” shouted Mum and Dad at the same time. “The water may flood in!”

Dad moved the dinner table against the door, in case the floodwater forced the door open. Mum waved to Mary to sit on the sofa. “Mary, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be OK,” she said softly, trying her best to comfort Mary. Her voice was calm, but Mary could tell she was worried too.

Without saying a single word, Dad walked to the sofa, sat down and hugged his wife and daughter. The sudden silence in the house seemed to make the wind and rain more frightening outside. What could they do?

All of a sudden, the floodwater forced the door open.

Being upstairs, they breathed a sigh of relief.

10 . How to prepare for a wildfire

Before you can effectively prepare, it’s very important to understand how wildfires operate. Many think wildfires destroy homes because a wall of flames(火焰)moves across the landscape.     1    . Now that you know what a wildfire is, here’s how you can protect your home and your family.

    2    

Creating a defensible space around your home acts as a barrier against wildfire flames. Home hardening involves constructing with fire-resistant materials. Investing $10,000 to $20,000 in these measures significantly reduces the chance of a home being ravaged by a wildfire, lowering risk by 75%.

Similar to dry or bagged leaves, dead tree branches are dry, which means they, too, can catch fire quickly. If you have any hanging from trees or laying in your yard, remove them ASAP. The same rule applies when removing dead tree branches:     3    .

Families should go over an evacuation plan and practice it well before an emergency actually occurs. Knowing when to leave and being able to go quickly is crucial during an evacuation scenario.     4    . Then plan your primary and alternative evacuation route, and assemble emergency supplies and store them where you can get to them quickly.

    5    . Fix metal gutter covers to reduce leaf litter and windblown debris. This will ensure that things don’t burn in them and spread fire to your home. Don’t pressure-wash gutters; it can damage them or pull them off your house.