20130830人間菩提 ~風雨無情人有情Being Humble in the Face of Disaster
“How high was the water?”
“As high as the window over there”.
“I was up all night and haven’t eaten much.”
“If people need help, we’ll contact our volunteers to bring them help they need”
Tropical Storm Kong-Rey has passed by Taiwan. When the storm was forming over the ocean, the weather bureau had forecasted that it would not be large in size, but was expected to bring heavy rain to Taiwan. Hearing that it was only going to be a tropical storm, many people let down their guard and didn’t take it seriously. So, they didn’t take enough precautions.
We should know that we never know how powerful a disaster will be. Although modern technology can detect when a storm is forming on the sea and advanced forecasting technology can also predict the storm’s expected rainfall, intensity and size, all this information is only for our reference so that we can prepare ourselves for what is going to come.
When we listen to weather forecasts of a storm, if we only take notice that the size of the storm won’t be very large and its wind won’t be too strong, we’ll assume that it’s not going to be a major storm and we won’t pay much attention to the warning of heavy rainfall. We don’t regard raining as a big deal as it is raining in Taiwan all the time, and so, we won’t take precautions as we don’t take the warnings seriously.
See, some people rely too much on weather forecasts while others don’t take them seriously. For those who don’t think much of storm warnings, they’ll neither be on guard nor humble enough to make preparations.
This time, Kong-Rey brought more rain than most people had expected. Although it didn’t make landfall in Taiwan, its outer rim brought torrential rain to many parts of Taiwan. The storm has passed us by, but there is a band of rain clouds trailing behind it, which will bring much rain to Taiwan. So, the weather bureau has warned that although the storm has passed, there’ll be more rain to come and everyone must remain on high alert.
Indeed, we truly must be vigilant and humbly pious at all times even though it’s just a minor storm. In fact, nowadays, climate conditions have become very erratic. Even without a storm, see how some places also received heavy rain that has led to widespread flooding.
For example, Russia’s Far East has been hit by severe floods due to continuous heavy rain. It is estimated that water levels could reach. It is estimated that water levels could reach as high as 830 cm and will not subside until late September.
All this is due to the imbalance in Nature, which has brought great devastation to the Earth and people. The torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Kong-Rey this time has caused serious disasters in southern Taiwan.
“How deep is the water?”
“The room was flooded up to the fan there. See the stain? We went upstairs, or we’d have drowned here.”
“The water was up to my waist in half an hour, just like last year.”
Why did floodwater rise so high in just half an hour after it started to rain? It’s because gutters have been blocked and there are too many buildings. So, when there is a downpour, the water cannot be drained away.
Nowadays most of the ground is paved with cement, asphalt, etc. and riverbeds have kept rising due to the soil, rocks, etc. deposited in them. So, when it rains heavily, the water has nowhere to go and flooding will be inevitable. In fact, man is the one to be blamed for this because we didn’t take good care of the land and our environment.
As population increases, we build more houses and other facilities. To acquire land for that, we clear pastures, fields, etc. to construct new buildings for people. With buildings and cement pavements everywhere, when it rains, water cannot be absorbed by the earth or drained away by rivers as some riverbeds are getting higher as I said earlier.
So, if we continue our way, flooding will be inevitable when it rains heavily. So, we must be aware and careful. It’s best that everyone can conserve energy and cut down their carbon emissions. Only then can climate conditions improve and people enjoy peace and safety. So, we must keep our actions in check.
We also see Tzu Chi volunteers bring hot meals to flood victims even when it was still raining.
“Have some food”
“Thank you”
“Amitofo”
“I’m very grateful Tzu Chi for being so kind to bring us warmth at a time like this”
In Dalin, a nursing home was also flooded. So, over 40 elderly residents there were evacuated to our hospital in Dalin. See how everyone in our hospital cared for them.
“We’ll find you a place so you can rest, okay?”
“We had to make sure two things. First, we checked if they needed medical help. Second, as they were all drenched, we helped them change into dry clothes and gave them comforters. Then, they could settle down and rest.”
When the flood came, these elderly residents weren’t able to run. Thankfully, they were brought to our hospital where everyone cared for them with love. Indeed, such love can help to bring ease to the Earth filled with so many disasters. But, more importantly, we should keep our desires in check as only then will climate conditions gradually become favorable
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