TAIWAN: 461 DEAD, 192 MISSING AFTER TYPHOON

TYPHOON MORAKOT CLAIMED 461 LIVES AND LEFT 192 MISSING,
TAIWAN SEEKS TO PREVENT EPIDEMICS AFTER FLOODING

TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed that 461 people were killed while 192 were missing after Typhoon Morakot struck two weeks ago causing the worst flooding in the island's history. The latest figures included 318 confirmed deaths from the worst-hit southern village of Hsiaolin, where 106 others were still unaccounted for, the National Fire Agency said. Previously the death toll from the typhoon stood at 376. The toll was expected to rise, with the agency also listing around 60 bodies and/or body parts yet to be identified.

The typhoon lashed the island earlier this month, bringing a record three metres (118 inches) of rain, submerging houses and streets and destroying bridges. Taiwanese authorities scrambled to disinfect villages Tuesday that were flooded in the worst typhoon to hit the island in 50 years after four soldiers helping with the cleanup were confirmed to have swine flu. The soldiers developed fevers and nausea after working in villages in Pingtung county in the south, said Steve Kuo, head of the Center for Disease Control. They later tested positive for swine flu, he added. Taiwan's National Fire Agency says Typhoon Morakot left more than 670 people either dead or missing on the island. President Ma Ying-jeou has said the scale of damage caused by Morakot was more severe than a 1959 typhoon that killed 667 people and left around 1,000 missing. The deadliest natural disaster in the island's history was a 7.6-magnitude quake that claimed around 2,400 lives in September 1999.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

It is the duty of a disciple approaching a spiritual master to inquire about his constitutional position. In conformity to that spiritual process, Sanātana has already asked, "What am l, and why am I suffering from the threefold miseries?" ... Sanātana's inquiry was therefore an intelligent one. "What is the position of the living entities?" he asked. "Why are they always undergoing these three kinds of miseries?" ... Approaching a spiritual master is not just a fashion but is a necessity for one who is seriously conscious of the material miseries and who wants to be free of them. It is the duty of such a person to approach a spiritual master.

Srila A.C. BV Swami Prabhupada:
"Teachings of Lord Caitanya - Chapter III: Teachings to Sanātana Gosvāmī"