Needed: Scientific flood management – The Hindu (Aug 24, 2016)

Needed: Scientific flood management – The Hindu (Aug 24, 2016)

India’s vulnerability to severe flooding during the monsoon is spectacularly demonstrated year after year, with the season invariably ending in significant loss of life and property. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

Word List:

1. vulnerability (noun) – the state of being open to attack, damage, harm physically or emotionally.
2. cope with (verb) – deal with, handle, manage, face, confront.
3. rescue (verb) – save, save from danger, come to the aid of.
4. owe (verb) – be grateful, to be in debt of gratitude, be under an obligation to give someone (gratitude & etc).
5. efficacy (noun) – effectiveness, efficiency, power/ability to give estimated results.
6. stand out (phrasal verb) – be noticeable, be noticed, be visible, be obvious.
7. tardy (adjective) – slow, sluggish; delayed, late.
8. capacity-building (noun) – capacity development; it has typically been defined as the development and strengthening of human and institutional resources. The United Nations Development Programme defines capacity as “the ability to perform functions, solve problems, and achieve objectives” at three levels: individual, institutional and societal. (Courtesy: WHO).
9. catastrophic (adjective) – disaster, calamity, crisis, tragedy.
10. stockpile (verb) – store up, amass, accumulate, collect, gather.
11. cascade (verb) – pour, gush, surge, flow.
12. tributary (noun) – branch river, headwater, feeder, side stream.
13. rely on (verb) – depend on, lean, hinge; resort to.
14. anecdotal (adjective) – informal, unreliable; unscientific.
15. embankment (noun) – earth/stone wall/bank; causeway, barrage.
16. fury (noun) – intensity, force, strength.
17. barrage (noun) – barrier, embankment, wall, dam.
18. in the wake of (phrase) – as a result of, as a consequence of, on account of, because of.
19. silting (noun) – filling up with silt, something become blocked/clogged/choked with silt. [silt (noun) – fine particles (like sand, clay & etc) carried by moving water and deposited as a sediment].
20. quest for (noun) – search, pursuit.
21. course (noun) – route, way, direction, path.
22. impoverishing (adjective) – weakening, exhausting, draining, depleting.
23. mitigate (verb) – alleviate, reduce, diminish, lessen, weaken.

Note:

• Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ .
• Definitions (elementary level)  & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.