The wave wiped several villages out of existence, causing a level of destruction previously unseen in peacetime.

浪潮摧毀了幾個村莊，造成了和平時期前所未見的嚴重破壞。

In the immediate aftermath, it seemed as though there could be only one possible cause.

緊接著，似乎只有一種可能的原因。

The Viont Dam, one of the tallest dams in the world, must surely have clapped.

作為世界上最高的大壩之一，維昂特大壩肯定會拍手叫好。

In fact, despite the incomparable destruction further down the river valley, the Viont Dam stood almost entirely intact.

事實上，儘管河谷下游遭受了無與倫比的破壞，但維昂特大壩幾乎完好無損。

The idea for the Viont Dam had first been suggested in the 1920s.

建造 Viont 大壩的想法最初是在 20 世紀 20 年代提出的。

As Italy industrialized, the need for electric power was growing.

隨著意大利工業化的發展，對電力的需求日益增長。

Constructing a hydroelectric dam would be one way to meet that need.

建造水電大壩是滿足這一需求的途徑之一。

The project, however, faced numerous delays, not least those caused by the advent of World War II.

然而，該項目面臨著許多延誤，尤其是第二次世界大戰的到來。

Once peace returned to Europe in 1945, the project was picked up once again, and serious work towards realizing it began.

1945 年歐洲恢復和平後，該項目再次被提上日程，並開始了認真的實施工作。

The first step in the process was to survey the chosen site, a narrow, steep-sided section of the Viont River Valley near the base of Montauk.

整個過程的第一步是對所選地點進行勘測，該地點位於蒙托克山腳下附近的維昂特河谷的一個狹窄、陡峭的地段。

These surveys were carried out by the Adriatic Electric Company, a government-backed company responsible for construction of the dam.

這些調查由亞得里亞海電氣公司進行，該公司由政府支持，負責大壩的建設。

Their analysis of the geology of the area determined that it was stable enough for construction to go ahead.

他們對該地區地質的分析表明，該地區足夠穩定，可以進行施工。

Work began in 1957, but there were a number of setbacks.

工程於 1957 年開始，但遇到了一些挫折。

As workers tried to complete new roads leading to and from the dam, they were hampered by unexpected ground movement.

當工人們試圖完成進出大壩的新道路時，意外的地面移動阻礙了他們的工作。

Independent experts were brought in to conduct assessments, and warned that the whole mountainside was unstable.

獨立專家被請來進行評估，並警告說整個山坡都不穩定。

This fact was driven home when a landslide at the nearby Pontessi Dam created a massive wave that overtopped the dam, swamped a power plant, and killed a construction worker in 1959.

1959 年，附近的龐特西大壩發生山體滑坡，引發巨浪，沖垮了大壩，淹沒了發電廠，並導致一名建築工人喪生。

The history of landslides in the area was common knowledge to local residents.

該地區山體滑坡的歷史對當地居民來說是家喻戶曉的。

Some of them even referred to Montauk as the Mountain that Walks, because of how often it moved.

有些人甚至把蒙托克稱為 "行走的山"，因為它經常移動。

The Adriatic Electric Company, however, was reluctant to abandon or scale back the project, which was, after all, a prestigious piece of civil engineering.

然而，亞得里亞海電氣公司不願放棄或縮減該項目，畢竟這是一項著名的土木工程。

Their own studies contradicted those provided by independent experts, and concluded that the dam would be safe so long as it was carefully managed.

他們自己的研究與獨立專家提供的研究相矛盾，得出的結論是，只要小心管理，大壩是安全的。

Journalists who drew any connection between landslides and earth movements in the area and the safety of the Vyont Dam were, on some occasions, sued by the government, and soon fell silent.

那些將該地區的山體滑坡和地殼運動與 Vyont 大壩的安全聯繫起來的記者有時會遭到政府的起訴，並很快陷入沉默。

By the 4th of November 1960, construction was mostly complete, and the Adriatic Electric Company had begun filling the reservoir behind the dam.

到 1960 年 11 月 4 日，施工已基本完成，亞得里亞海電力公司已開始向大壩後面的水庫注水。

As the water level rose, a significant landslide took place, with a huge quantity of rock and soil crashing down into the growing lake.

隨著水位的上升，發生了嚴重的山體滑坡，大量的岩石和泥土墜落到不斷擴大的湖泊中。

The resultant wave did not overtop the dam, but was alarming enough to prompt the Adriatic Electric Company to carry out more research.

由此產生的波浪雖然沒有沖垮大壩，但也足以引起亞得里亞海電氣公司的警覺，促使他們開展更多的研究。

The company put its engineers to work constructing models of the dam and the valley to simulate what might happen in the event of another landslide.

該公司的工程師們開始建造大壩和山谷的模型，以模擬再次發生山體滑坡時可能出現的情況。

They used the speed and size of the 1960 slide as a starting point, and carried out a barrage of tests, ultimately concluding that the dam would be safe so long as it was not filled above a height of 700 metres, or 2,297 feet.

他們以 1960 年滑坡的速度和規模為出發點，進行了一系列測試，最終得出結論：只要大壩的填築高度不超過 700 米，即 2297 英尺，大壩就是安全的。

In 1963, after months of rain, another landslide appeared imminent, with trees and rocks crumbling into the lake.

1963 年，經過幾個月的降雨，又一次山體滑坡迫在眉睫，樹木和岩石崩落到湖中。

The mayor of the lakeside village of Erta was so worried that he called for an evacuation.

埃爾塔湖邊村的村長非常擔心，他呼籲人們撤離。

Engineers at the dam, however, were unconcerned.

然而，大壩的工程師們對此卻不以為然。

In accordance with the research conducted by the Adriatic Electric Company, the water level in the reservoir had been lowered to the point that they were certain no landslide could possibly cause a wave that would overtop the dam.

根據亞得里亞海電力公司進行的研究，水庫的水位已經降低到他們確信沒有山體滑坡可能導致浪潮沖垮大壩的程度。

So confident were they in this assessment that some workers gathered on top of the dam to watch the landslide and ensuing wave.

他們對這一評估如此有信心，以至於一些工人聚集在大壩頂部觀看山體滑坡和隨之而來的巨浪。

When it finally came at 10.39pm, those working at the dam were among the first to die.

當晚上 10 點 39 分，地震終於來臨時，在大壩工作的人是首批死亡的人。

Attractive land the size of a small town plunged into the lake over the course of just 45 seconds.

面積相當於一個小鎮的美麗陸地在短短 45 秒內墜入湖中。

Much faster than anticipated.

比預期的要快得多。

This both raised the water level and created a massive wave that spread out in all directions.

這既提高了水位，又產生了向四面八方擴散的巨浪。

This wave overtopped the dam and swept on down the river valley in a solid wall of water the height of a 70-storey building.

這股巨浪衝過大壩，在河谷中形成一道堅固的水牆，有 70 層樓那麼高。

The waves which spread out across the lake destroyed the village of Erta, which had only been partially evacuated.

波及整個湖面的海浪摧毀了埃爾塔村，該村僅疏散了部分村民。

The wave that flowed down the river valley swallowed up farms, houses and numerous settlements as it went.

順著河谷流淌而下的巨浪吞噬了農場、房屋和眾多居民點。

The villages of Longoroni, Birago, Rivalta, Villanova and Fe were all wiped off the map.

Longoroni 村、Birago 村、Rivalta 村、Villanova 村和 Fe 村都從地圖上消失了。

The wave swept away trees, rocks, buildings, cars and people, leaving behind nothing but a flat plain of mud.

海浪捲走了樹木、岩石、建築、汽車和人，只留下一馬平川的泥濘平原。

As it entered the narrow valley, the wave pushed ahead of it a wall of air that crashed into anything in its path with the power of a hurricane.

當它進入狹窄的山谷時，波浪在前方推來一道氣牆，以颶風般的威力撞向路徑上的任何東西。

Windows broke, people were bowled off their feet, cars picked up and thrown and houses flattened.

窗戶被打破，人們被摔得七葷八素，汽車被拎起來扔，房屋被夷為平地。

Following seconds behind this destructive storm was the wave itself, a churning mass of water and debris that proved deadly to almost anyone caught up in it.

緊隨這場毀滅性風暴之後的是巨浪本身，洶湧的水流和碎石几乎對所有被捲入其中的人都是致命的。

One survivor, Michaela Coletti, a child at the time, related her experience of the disaster.

一位倖存者米凱拉-科萊蒂（Michaela Coletti）講述了她的災難經歷，當時她還是個孩子。

She came into my room and said she was going to close all the shutters because the storm was coming.

她走進我的房間，說她要關上所有的百葉窗，因為暴風雨就要來了。

At exactly the same moment, all the lights went out and I heard a sound impossible to describe properly.

就在同一時刻，所有的燈都熄滅了，我聽到了一種無法形容的聲音。

The closest thing I've ever heard to it is the sound of metal shop shutters rolling down, crashing shut, but this was a million, a billion times worse.

我所聽過的最接近這種聲音的聲音是金屬商店百葉窗卷下、轟然關閉的聲音，但這比這還要糟糕一百萬倍、十億倍。

I felt my bed collapsing, as if there was a hole opening up beneath me and an irresistible force dragging me out.

我感到我的床在坍塌，彷彿我的腳下開了一個洞，一股不可抗拒的力量把我拖了出來。

I couldn't do anything.

我什麼也做不了。

I had no idea what was happening.

我完全不知道發生了什麼。

When they pulled me out, there was a popping sound like when you open a bottle, and someone said, We found another old one.

當他們把我拉出來的時候，發出了 "啪 "的一聲，就像你打開一個瓶子時發出的聲音，有人說，我們找到了另一箇舊瓶子。

I was just twelve, but I was covered in mud and completely black and must have looked like an old woman.

我當時只有 12 歲，但渾身都是泥巴，整個人黑乎乎的，看起來一定像個老太太。

Michaela was among a lucky few to survive.

米凱拉是幸運的倖存者之一。

In the majority of the flood-hit towns, around 80% of residents were killed within the first 15 minutes of the disaster.

在大多數遭受洪災的城鎮中，約 80% 的居民在災後 15 分鐘內喪生。

With bodies buried by debris or washed miles down river, an exact death toll is difficult to determine, but by most estimates the flood killed at least 2,000 people.

由於屍體被瓦礫掩埋或被衝到數英里外的河中，確切的死亡人數難以確定，但據大多數人估計，洪水至少造成 2000 人死亡。

Though the Italian army was dispatched to attempt the rescue operation, the most they were able to do in many cases was to recover and later rest the bodies of those killed.

儘管意大利軍隊被派去嘗試營救行動，但在許多情況下，他們所能做的最多也就是找到遇難者的屍體，然後讓他們安息。

In the aftermath of the disaster, the government insisted that the flood had been an unavoidable natural disaster.

災後，政府堅稱洪水是不可避免的自然災害。

Indeed, it had been caused by months of rain and a landslide, both conventionally natural disasters.

事實上，這是由於幾個月的降雨和山體滑坡造成的，而這兩種災害都是常見的自然災害。

The fact that the dam had been situated in such an ill-advised location was barely acknowledged.

人們幾乎不承認大壩建在如此不明智的地方。

Because it was a natural disaster, the government was able to pay a lesser amount of compensation to many survivors, or outright deny compensation claims in some cases.

由於這是一場自然災害，政府可以向許多幸存者支付較少的賠償金，或者在某些情況下直接拒絕賠償要求。

The village of Vient was built to provide housing for many of the survivors, although some chose to return to the land where their houses had stood before the flood.

維恩特村的建成為許多幸存者提供了住所，但也有一些人選擇回到洪水來臨前房屋所在的土地上。

The government discouraged but allowed this, and turned its attention to industrializing the area as much as possible in an attempt to aid its economic recovery.

政府對此雖不鼓勵，但也允許，並將注意力儘可能地轉向該地區的工業化，以幫助其經濟復甦。

For some years, the Vient Dam disaster was regarded as a regrettable accident in the route of progress, the result of an uncontrollable, natural phenomena.

多年來，Vient 大壩災難一直被視為前進道路上的一次令人遺憾的事故，是無法控制的自然現象造成的。

It was only over the course of many years that the role played by the government and by those working on the dam project was acknowledged.

多年之後，政府和大壩項目工作人員所發揮的作用才得到承認。

Now the dam is considered an example of a grave error of judgment, a project pursued in spite of numerous warning signs.

現在，大壩被認為是一個嚴重判斷失誤的例子，是一個不顧無數警告信號而繼續實施的項目。

The dam remains in place.

大壩仍在原地。

Though the uppermost portion of the structure was damaged by the wave, it remained largely intact.

雖然該建築的最上部被海浪損壞，但仍基本完好無損。

It has since been repaired, but is no longer used to provide hydroelectric power.

此後，它得到了修復，但不再用於提供水力發電。

Instead, it is a tourist attraction and a memorial.

相反，它是一個旅遊景點和紀念館。

It is still one of the tallest dams in the world, but it holds no water, and instead serves as a reminder of one of the most destructive and needless disasters in Italian history.

它仍然是世界上最高的大壩之一，但卻沒有蓄水，反而成為意大利歷史上最具破壞性和最無謂的災難之一的紀念碑。