132 DEAD AND 1.4M EVACUATED IN CHINA FLOODING

MORE THAN 130 DEAD AND MORE THAN A MILLION
EVACUATED IN SOUTHERN CHINA OVER FLOOD THREAT

BEIJING (AP) - The death toll from flooding this week in southern China rose to 132 Saturday. 86 people were also missing and 1.4 million people were evacuated as the inundated region prepared for more heavy storms, in nine provinces and regions across China's south, the state flood control office said. Water levels have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's manufacturing region. China Central Television footage Saturday showed people stranded on rooftops of nearly completely submerged homes. Soldiers waded through raging brown water carrying students from an elementary school in Nanping city, in the eastern province of Fujian. More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the school Saturday morning after being stranded by flooded roads, the report said.

5.5 million people had been affected by flooding including injuries sustained and property losses incurred, and more than 1.4 million residents had been moved from low-lying areas since Thursday, the flood control office informed. Thirty-five people died in landslides caused by heavy rain, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. The flood control office told The Associated Press it was not clear if that number was included in the overall death toll. Xinhua cited local officials and said 25 of the landslide deaths occurred late Friday in Fujian province. The National Meteorological Center warned of heavy rains in the region until Sunday afternoon. Strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslides and power outages, and damaged highways, the disaster relief agency website said.


More than a million people living along rivers in China's south have been evacuated due to water rising to dangerous levels. China's rainy season, which began in May, follows the worst drought in a century in the southern regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Nature is not pleased with us; first it was very dry, now there is too much water.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Despite all this advancement, at every moment everyone is suffering due to at least one of the following threefold miseries: (1.) adhyatmika klesha; (2.) adhibhautika klesha and (3.) adhidaivika klesha. The miseries caused by nature (adhidaivika klesha) like floods, droughts, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. are devastating calamities imposed upon us through the agency of nature. ... And moreover, we are being constantly tormented by the changes in the weather such as scorching heat, freezing cold and untimely rains. Thus a wise person should ponder, “Why should our lives be ridden with the anxiety of facing and tackling one problem after another? Is this all that life is meant for? Or is there a life of eternal joy that is never inhibited by sufferings?”

Śrīpad Radheshyam Das :
“Discover Your Self”
‘Vedic Wisdom’ - ‘Cause of Suffering’
Director, ISKCON Youth Forum, Pune President, ISKCON, Pune.