Sunday, April 21, 2013

CHINA RACES TO AID QUAKE VICTIMS

EARTHQUAKE STRUCK SICHUAN
PROVINCE IN SOUTHWEST CHINA
www.theaustralian.com.au A powerful earthquake has ripped through China's Sichuan province, killing nearly 200 people near the site of one of the country's worst natural disasters. The 7.0-magnitude quake shook the region in China's southwest early on Saturday and left more than 6000 people injured. Thousands more could be left homeless as the quake demolished houses, buildings and offices. The government mobilized thousands of People's Liberation Army troops as part of the massive rescue effort. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang toured the Ya'an region in the province, the epicenter of the quake, and promised government support for victims.
The event has striking similarities to the 2008 quake that killed nearly 90,000 people in the Wenchuan area of Sichuan. "The current most urgent issue is seizing the first 24 hours after the quake, the golden time for saving lives, and to take scientific rescue measures and save people's lives," Mr Li said.

"Life is the most important thing - the top priority is saving lives. No minute or even second should be delayed during the first 72 hours after the strike." Mr Li said rescuers and emergency service workers needed to ensure there was no further damage from aftershocks. China's cabinet, the State Council, held an emergency meeting and put in place a "first grade" response to the quake. "We once underwent catastrophes and have experience in dealing with them," Mr Li said.
"Under the strong leadership of the (Communist) Party and the government and as long as we unite as one conducting rescue work scientifically, we are able to minimize the losses and overcome the disaster." Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged an "all-out" response to ensure people were rescued and Sichuan province recovered from the earthquake.


A magnitude 7 quake occurred Saturday in the southwestern part of China's Sichuan province. Although  the scene was not one of massive destruction as seen in the 2008 quake - which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale - nearly 200 people have been killed, and about 12,000 injured. Today, rescue teams continue to search for survivors, despite heavy rainstorms that have hampered the effort to reach victims.  In this material world we are always suffering because of one or a combination of these three kinds of miseries: (1.) adhyatmika klesha; (2.) adhibhautika klesha and (3.) adhidaivika klesha.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 
"Being unable to protect himself from the threefold miseries of material existence, the conditioned soul becomes very morose and lives a life of lamentation. These threefold miseries are miseries suffered by mental calamity at the hands of the demigods [such as freezing wind and scorching heat], miseries offered by other living entities, and miseries arising from the mind and body themselves." ... Actually no one can counteract these threefold miseries. All three may assail one at one time, or one misery may be absent and the other present. Thus the living entity is full of anxiety, fearing misery from one side or the other. The conditioned soul must be disturbed by at least one of these three miseries. There is no escape. 



Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.14.25
Canto 5: "The Creative Impetus
Ch. 14: "The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment"
Verse 25  -  Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

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