白宫：洪水是“天意”，网友：还有同情心吗？

美国白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特7日在记者会上说，得克萨斯州致上百人遇难的洪水是“天意”，“不是政府的错”。这一说法遭到众多美国网民批评。

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt drew severe backlash for suggesting that the devastating flooding in Texas, which claimed the lives of over 100 people, was an "act of God".

7月7日，在美国首都华盛顿白宫，白宫新闻发言人卡罗琳·莱维特出席记者会。新华社记者 胡友松 摄

在白宫当天举行的记者会上，一名记者提问：“为什么洪水警报是在人们可能睡觉的时候发出的？政府会采取哪些措施确保警报在将来能尽快发布？”莱维特回答：“洪水来袭时人们在睡觉，这是天意，这不是政府的错。”她表示，洪水来临之前，气象部门已经向克尔县发出了充分的警报。

At a press conference at the White House on Monday, Leavitt was questioned about why the alerts were delivered when most Americans were asleep and what steps the government is taking to make sure they are given out earlier in the future.

"This was an act of God; it is not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did, but there were early and consistent warnings," Leavitt said. "And again, the National Weather Service did its job."

美国公共广播电视网在社交媒体发布的莱维特记者会视频帖文下，众多网民或直接批评或发出反讽。

Videos of the incident went viral on X and other social networking sites, and angry users criticized the press secretary for her alleged lack of accountability for the issue, which they attributed to the administration's "fault".

网民卡伦·凯恩斯说：“洪水是‘天意’，但我们可以预测并做好准备。至少我们拥有完整的国家海洋和大气管理局和国家气象局。”

网民埃伦·罗森说：“天意？这是保险公司（责任）除外条款的惯用说法。”

网民曼迪·洛里安说：“（如果是）富有同情心的回应，应该说他们将调查下次如何减轻这类悲剧，包括调查如何分配资金。”

这些评论获得很多网民点赞。

这是7月8日在美国得克萨斯州亨特市瓜达卢普河附近拍摄的被洪水冲倒的警示牌。新华社/法新

美国总统特朗普重返白宫后，废除前任拜登政府的气候政策，裁减美国国家海洋和大气管理局及其下属国家气象局预算资金和数百名员工。据美国媒体报道，在国家气象局位于得州中部的分支机构，4月以来包括天气预警协调员等多个岗位空缺。一些民主党人批评这些举措是得州洪灾的“催化剂”。

The New York Times has reported that key roles at National Weather Service (NWS) local offices were vacant as heavy rains hit Central Texas.

民主党籍参议员克里斯·墨菲在社交媒体发文写道：“准确的天气预报有助于避免致命灾难。特朗普对气象学家等公职人员的愚蠢攻击产生了后果。”

美国国会参议院民主党领袖舒默7日致信美国商务部代理监察长罗德里克·安德森，要求调查总统特朗普领导的共和党政府裁减联邦气象部门员工导致岗位空缺，是否是此次洪灾造成大量人员死亡的原因之一。

Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, on Monday called for an investigation into whether cuts made to NWS in the administration had any correlation to the level of devastation.

"Following the disastrous and deeply devastating flash flooding in Texas this weekend, I write to urge you to immediately to open an investigation into the scope, breadth, and ramifications of whether staffing shortages at key local National Weather Service (NWS) stations contributed to the catastrophic loss of life and property during the deadly flooding," Schumer wrote in a letter sent to Commerce Department Acting Inspector General Roderick Anderson.

得州州长阿博特8日说，4日以来暴雨引发的洪水导致得州克尔县仍有至少161人处于失踪状态。受灾各县当天发布的消息显示，洪灾已造成至少109人死亡。这次洪灾是美国百年来最严重的洪灾之一。

来源 ：新华社 ABCNews

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