Hallo eco-aware viewers
and welcome to
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Today in the first of
a two-part series, we
focus on the devastating
effects of floods
on people and our planet.
Floods occur when
enormous amounts of
water partially or fully
inundate land surfaces
through such events
as excessively heavy
rainfalls, cyclones,
tsunamis, storm surges,
icesheet and glacier
melting, and so on.
Experiencing
a serious flood can be
a truly terrifying
experience, as conditions
are ever-changing
and uncertain.
Is it safe to drive
through a flooded street?
Can one walk through
the high waters and
not encounter dangerous
sharp objects or worse,
lose footing and
be swept away
by the swift currents?
Will people be able to
survive the time
without access to
clean water and food?
In its numerous reports,
the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
(IPCC) has observed that
around the world
there have been
widespread increases
in heavy rainfall events,
even in places where
the total amount of rain
received annually
has been decreasing.
Prominent scientists
everywhere point to
global warming
as the reason for this
worrisome phenomenon.
Climate change
researchers have found
that animal agriculture
is overwhelmingly
responsible for the
warming of our planet.
This harmful activity
releases immense
quantities of lethal
greenhouse gases and
the industry is also
the primary cause of
the majority of
the world’s deforestation
and land degradation.
The alterations to
the planet’s atmosphere
and land surfaces
from livestock raising
have wreaked havoc on
the natural interactions
between ecosystems and
the hydrological cycle.
Climate models cited in
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
reports project that
deleterious human actions
such as factory farming
which elevate the amount
of greenhouse gases
in the air will mean
a continual upward trend
in the number of
violent weather events in
many parts of the world,
including those marked
by excessively
heavy precipitation.
Rising sea levels caused
by climate change
worsen the effect of
storm surges and other
similar weather extremes
in coastal areas by
increasing the chances
that an inundation
will occur.
What's more,
in the past 30 years over
2.8 billion people have
been affected by floods
worldwide,
with over 95% of them
residing in Asia.
Last year
hydrological disasters
were the most frequent
type of natural disaster
comprising over 53% of
all such events globally.
Of the 180 reported
hydrological disasters
worldwide, 149 were floods
and 31 were
wet mass movements
like landslides, with
over 57.3 million victims.
Compared to 2008,
the number of persons
affected
increased by 27.4%.
The continent with
the largest occurrence of
floods in 2009 was Asia.
ASIA
From July 11 to 17, 2009
unusual torrential rains
hit Sichuan and Hunan
provinces and Chongqing
Municipality in China,
triggered frightening
floods and landslides.
Nearly two million
people were affected,
and at least 17 perished.
On July 25, 2009 seven
cities and other parts of
Hunan were flooded,
affecting 1.3 million
people, with at least
12 fatalities, 3,200
homes collapsed and
14,000 others damaged.
Typhoon Morakot struck
Formosa (Taiwan)
on August 7 and 8, 2009
triggering severe floods
and landslides.
Many roads and bridges
were swept away,
stranding thousands
in places like remote
mountain villages.
At least 121 people
perished, 45 were injured
and more than
50,000 troops worked
to rescue some 15,000
stranded persons.
Floods deeply impact
families, homes
and livelihoods.
Widespread crop damage
caused by flooding
can have an immensely
negative effect
on a nation’s ability to
feed itself, and injures
social welfare and
a country’s economy.
In September 2009
high tides flooded
the Mekong Delta regions
in Âu Lạc (Vietnam).
Thousands of hectares
of vegetable crops were
submerged in salt water
in the provinces of
Cà Mau, Kiên Giang
and An Giang
along with buildings
that were flooded in
the region’s largest city
of Cần Thơ.
Landslides also occurred
in many sections
of Cà Mau’s eastern
coastline as well as
along 40 meters of levees
in An Giang province,
with trees that
were swept away
by huge wave surges.
Losses endured by
the region in 2008 due to
climate change resulted
in over 100 fatalities
and damage to more than
30,000 hectares
of rice fields.
Incessant downpours
triggered floods
from August 19
through August 21, 2009
and affected hundreds
of villages in eastern
Nepal’s Jhapa district.
Eight people lost
their lives,
and over 6,000 families
were displaced as
hundreds of homes were
damaged or swept away
and over 1,000 hectares
of crops were destroyed.
Unusual rains in early
September 2009
triggered floods in
Laghman and Nangarhar
provinces of
eastern Afghanistan.
At least 15 perished and
several hundred homes,
agricultural land and fruit
trees suffered damage.
Numerous makeshift
shelters in and around
the Somali capital of
Mogadishu were swept
away in late October 2009
after two days
of downpours
triggered flash floods.
Thousands of persons
displaced by civil war
lost everything
and were foodless.
Some 6,000 families,
or 36,000 people, in the
southern coastal city of
Kismayo faced
similar conditions,
making them vulnerable
to mosquitoes and rain.
When we return, we will
continue our examination
of the ruinous effects of
climate change-induced
flooding.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
This is Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
on Supreme Master
Television
where we are focusing on
the disturbing trend
of increased flooding
worldwide
due to climate change.
Major floods can
devastate infrastructure,
thereby hampering rescue
efforts and the delivery
of much needed aid
to those caught
in the rising waters.
In late December 2009
Lebanon struggled
through floods
and disruption.
Heavy rainfalls and
high winds caused
widespread flooding
across Lebanon,
particularly in the Beirut
and Mount Lebanon
regions.
Extreme traffic congestion
was noted as
roads became impassable
due to high waters
or landslides.
Some schools were
also evacuated as
the water found its way
into buildings.
Government ministries
and other agencies
worked fervently together
to bring relief
to the affected.
Torrential rains in
September 2009 caused
loss of life for two people
in the Mexican capital
of Mexico City
as heavy rainfall flooded
20 neighborhoods
and city officials
evacuated 1,500 people
from their homes.
Four subway stations also
became inoperable
due to flooding, and
cars on some streets
were found floating in
up to one and a half meters
of water.
Floods surprised
Australian residents
in mid-January 2010.
In what is normally
a dry central region,
torrential rains
caused stranding of
hotel visitors as well as
closure of highways
and rail service.
A family of five
was found and rescued
via helicopter
several days after
they had tried to drive
through the floodwaters.
Devastating deluges
can mean the fast spread
of water borne diseases.
In tropical and
sub-tropical regions
across the globe
dengue fever threatens
the lives of flood victims.
It is transmitted
by mosquitoes that
reproduce quickly in
pools of standing water.
Dengue fever
is marked by high fever,
vomiting, rashes, nausea
and other serious
symptoms and there is
no known treatment.
The World Health
Organization estimates
that annually
50 million people are
infected worldwide.
Malaria, another disease
transmitted by mosquitos,
is also of serious concern
following flooding.
One million children
in Africa died in 2008
due to this disease.
In addition, diarrhea
which can be fatal to
very young children, can
occur if water supplies
become contaminated
by the flood waters.
THE MIDDLE EAST
On Wednesday,
November 25, 2009
some of the worst rains
in years caused flooding
in the western port city
of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
on the Red Sea.
At least 48 people
perished and
900 had to be rescued
from stranding as
buildings and vehicles
were submerged
in several meters
of floodwaters.
Downpours also struck
the holy city of Mecca,
where some 2 million
Muslim pilgrims
were on the annual
hajj pilgrimage at the time.
More than 70 of the flood
victims contracted
the swine flu virus,
with four succumbing
to the illness.
In October 2009,
Kenya was overcome by
unexpected floods due to
heavy El Niño rains,
causing at least
two fatalities and
displacing 500 families
in the coastal Magarini
District as homes and
vast fields of crops
were destroyed.
Following the disaster,
affected resident
Jillo Galgalo stated,
“Most pit latrines have
been washed away
because nobody expected
any floods to occur
this soon.
We are in dire need of
clean water because
most water points are
now filled with
all sorts of waste,
including human waste
and cow dung.”
Another heartbreaking
reality is that animals,
like humans, also
fall victim to unrelenting
downpours and floods.
Animal companions may
be left behind in homes
with no food or water
in the rush to evacuate.
If there is no higher ground,
animals living in fields
such as horses may
have nowhere to turn
with rising flood waters.
Heavy monsoon rains
that began in early July
2009 triggered a flood
in the Barpeta District
of Assam, India, causing
people and animals to
perish, with over
half a million villagers
affected as many lost
their bamboo homes.
On September 21, 2009
the southeastern US state
of Georgia was inundated
by downpours,
causing creeks and rivers
to burst their banks.
At least 10 people and
four canine companions
lost their lives
as metro Atlanta and
surrounding areas were
flooded, forcing hundreds
to evacuate their homes.
Georgia Insurance
Commissioner
John Oxendine estimated
US$500 million in losses
were incurred
in the region and
over 20,000 homes
and buildings were
substantially damaged.
The floods that we have
recapped today are just
a small fraction of these
climate-change induced
events that
have occurred recently.
While endeavors to
forecast floods to prevent
loss of life and property
are becoming more
fine-tuned, and though
emergency responders
give their utmost
to safeguard
their communities,
truly the best way to
save precious lives from
future natural disasters
is to prevent them
in the first place.
The key step for all
to take right now
is the adoption of
the eco-conscious
organic vegan diet which
will dramatically reduce
greenhouse gas emissions,
end deforestation, restore
habitats and quickly
end climate change.
Our planet’s
weather patterns
will again stabilize and
flooding will no longer
be a concern.
Earth-wise viewers,
thank you
for your company
on today’s program.
Please join us
next Wednesday
on Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home for
part two of our program
on floods.
Coming up next is
Enlightening
Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May all lives be filled
with heavenly bliss
and abundant love.
Welcome,
eco-conscious viewers,
to Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Today we present
the second episode
in our two-part series on
the catastrophic impact
of floods on humankind
and our planet.
Floods occur when
enormous amounts of water
inundate land surfaces
through such events
as excessively heavy
rainfalls, cyclones,
tsunamis, storm surges,
melting of icesheets
and glaciers, and so on.
In its numerous reports,
the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change
(IPCC) has observed
there have been
widespread increases
in sudden heavy rainfall
events around the world,
even in places where
the total amount of rain
received annually
has been decreasing.
Prominent scientists
everywhere point to
global warming
as the reason for this
worrisome phenomenon.
Climate change
researchers have found
that animal agriculture
is overwhelmingly
responsible for the
warming of our planet.
This harmful activity
releases immense
quantities of lethal
greenhouse gases and
the industry is also
the primary cause of
the majority of
the world’s deforestation
and land degradation.
The alterations to
the planet’s atmosphere
and land surfaces
from livestock raising
have wreaked havoc on
the natural interactions
between ecosystems and
the hydrological cycle.
Thus far in 2010,
floods have caused
grievous suffering
to humans and animals,
as well as utter devastation
to property, crops
and the environment.
During this period,
China has been
the most severely
flood-affected nation
in the world.
CHINA
APRIL 2010
Floods occurred
on Friday, April 17th in
Altay City
of Alakak County
affecting over 500 homes,
blocking roads and
damaging property.
In southeastern Jiangxi
Province, the rainy season
arrived half a month
early, forcing hundreds
of people to evacuate
as torrential precipitation
drenched 45 counties.
Central China’s
Hunan province
was inundated with
an average rainfall of
112 millimeters
for a week beginning
on April 17th, causing
the Xiang River to rise
by up to six meters, with
nearly 300 embankment
breaches reported.
Officials said that
the resulting floods
claimed one life
in a landslide and caused
property loss for more
than 900,000 people
as the waters swept
through 27 counties,
collapsing at least 4,600
homes and submerging
nearly 40,000 hectares
of farmland.
MAY 2010
Starting on the evening
of May 5, forceful rain,
hail, winds,
and a rare tornado
with gusts of up to
112 kilometers-per-hour
impacted the provinces of
Sichuan, Chongqing,
Guizhou, Jiangxi,
Guangdong and Hunan.
The storms set off
mud-rock slides and flash
floods and threatened to
breach reservoirs
as water levels in rivers
swelled and burst levees.
According to the Office
of State Flood Control
and Drought Relief
Headquarters
2.55-million residents
were affected with
nearly 10,000 homes flattened
and 100,000 hectares
of arable land ruined.
The central government
allocated
US$4.5 million to help
with recovery efforts in
Chongqing Municipality,
where 31 fatalities
were reported.
Torrential precipitation
on May 31st
flooded 27 counties
in Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region,
causing landslides.
More than
80,000 evacuated as
thousands of homes and
nearly 78,000 hectares
of crops were devastated.
JUNE 2010
The Chinese government
reported on Saturday,
June 12th that abnormally
heavy seasonal flooding
across 21 provinces
caused at least 155
fatalities, with 1.3 million
people uprooted
as 140,000
homes collapsed and
two million hectares of
crops were affected.
As of Friday, June 11th,
direct economic losses
had reached US$6.5
billion, an amount
nearly four times higher
than in the previous year.
According to the Chinese
Ministry of Civil Affairs,
199 people had succumbed
since mid-June
to the relentless rains and
floods that swept through
10 southern provinces,
with 123 still missing
as of Tuesday, June 22nd.
The extreme weather
affected over
29 million people, with
2.37 million displaced
after 195,000 homes
were destroyed and
568,000 were damaged.
At the end of June,
heavy rain throughout
southern China caused
hundreds to perish.
In Jiangxi province,
at least 100,000 people
residing along the Fu
River were left to rely on
aid after the Changkai
levee was ruined
amidst the region’s
worst floods in a century.
Many of my seedlings
were drowned, which
means I won’t have any
crop harvest this year.
This used to be the
main road in the village
which led to the levee.
After it was broken,
all the water flowed
in our direction
along the road.
Now some parts of this
road are filled with sand.
Here, for example,
where it is lower, it is
also submerged and
cars can’t drive through.
I am standing at the site
of the levee breach
in Changkai Township,
Fuzhou City, Jiangxi,
which is the most
severely damaged area.
Hallo, can you tell us
about the situation at
the time of the flooding?
At that time, we had four
or five successive days
of rain, with daily
accumulated rainfall
amounting to
over 100 millimeters.
This is the site where
the levee broke.
This is the Fu River.
The soldiers have helped
to evacuate 100,000
people away from here.
When we return,
we’ll continue our review
of destructive
climate change-induced
floods that have occurred
thus far in 2010.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
This is Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
on Supreme Master
Television,
where we’re featuring
part two of our presentation
on the severe effects
of floods on humanity
and the environment.
The colossal damage and
pain caused by the floods
during 2010
have profoundly affected
the Chinese people.
The nation joined together
in August to honor
some of those
who were casualties
of natural disasters.
On Sunday, August 15,
Chinese leaders, students,
workers and overseas
nationals honored
1248 brethren who had
lost their lives as well as
the some 500
still missing from the
recent massive mudslides
and floods in Zhouqu
County of northwest
China's Gansu province.
In Beijing, President
Hu Jintao led top Chinese
government officials
in a three-minute
silent tribute, while
more than 5000 rescuers
and villagers stood
on the mudslide debris
at Dongjie Village
in Zhouqu, and
approximately 10,000
gathered at a city square
in Lazhou.
All entertainment
activities were also
suspended across
the country as part of
the commemoration.
Other areas of the world
have also experienced
relentless, frightening
floods in 2010,
with an enormous toll
taken on families, homes,
livelihoods, crops
and animals.
COLOMBIA
May 2010
At least 18 people died
and 87 were injured
when waves of torrential
rains pummeled southern
Colombia
at the end of May.
Floods and landslides
uprooted thousands
across 134 municipalities
as 15,000 homes
were damaged.
We completely lost all
that was in our homes
and lost everything,
completely all,
because of the mud...
We suffer because
we don’t sleep,
we don’t eat in peace.
The biggest thing,
the boy is lost …
the rest of it, well,
you get it anyway.
And I thank you so much
that you do not leave us
so helpless like this.
And thank you.
INDIA
July 2010
At the beginning of July,
two people
lost their lives and
over 200,000 were displaced
throughout 400 villages
as floods massively
disrupted the state of
Assam, India.
Thunderstorms
smashed homes,
and uprooted trees and
electric and telephone poles.
The region’s Kaziranga
National Park
has also been deluged
by the swollen
Brahmaputra River,
forcing scores of already
endangered animals,
including rhinos and
elephants, to retreat to
nearby hills for safety.
YEMEN
July 2010
At least 30 people
succumbed to
days of continuous rainfall
that resulted
in flooding and landslides
across Yemen’s
northwestern regions
on Wednesday, July 14th.
Seven perished when
a vehicle was swept away
in the Mashanna district
of Ibb province,
while a rock slide
in Dhamar province
collapsed a dam,
leading to flooding
that took five lives
and injured four others,
while submerging
a health center,
farms and roads.
Floods caused fatalities
in two refugee camps,
where some 200 families
were displaced,
while in the capital
Sana’a, roads were
blocked by rising waters
that also flowed into
residents’ homes.
POLAND/GERMANY/
CZECH REPUBLIC
AUGUST 2010
At least 14 people
died after
torrential rains triggered
inundations in the border
regions of Poland,
Germany and
the Czech Republic
on Saturday, August 7th.
Several towns and
villages were completely
isolated, while homes,
cars, and bridges
were destroyed, with
thousands more houses
losing electricity.
In northern Czech
Republic, at least 1,000
people were evacuated,
including residents
in areas below two dams
that threatened to burst
as water levels rose,
as well as
three summer camps.
In the towns of Chrastava
and Frýdlant, police
and military helicopters
saved people stranded on
the roofs of their homes.
Hundreds of German
and Czech firefighters
worked side-by-side
to lessen water levels
submerging a major
international railway line
connecting Prague,
the Czech Republic
and Berlin, Germany.
Meanwhile in Poland,
another 2,000 people were
evacuated by firefighters
via boats, assisted by
emergency workers from
neighboring Germany as
the southwestern
town of Bogatynia was
inundated following
the overflowing of the
Miedzianka River, which
destroyed several homes
and displaced 700 people.
ETHIOPIA
AUGUST 2010
As flooding swept through
Ethiopia’s north-central
Amhara Region,
19 people were reported
to have lost their lives on
Wednesday, August 25th,
with nearly 9,000 evacuated
to safer ground.
The floods followed
over a month of
unusually heavy rains,
which also
submerged or washed
away more than 6,000
hectares of crops.
Three lowland districts
were especially affected
as rivers swelled in the
hills of Oromiya zone,
and over 53,000 households
in five other zones
were affected.
Regional governments
and aid agencies such as
the United Nations
World Food Program and
World Vision
assisted with shelter
and emergency aid,
while extended family
members also
offered their care.
While many
praiseworthy efforts
are made by governments
and non-governmental
organizations
around the world
to save people’s lives
and provide them with
immediate assistance,
provisions and care,
the one sure thing that
can help prevent all these
unforgiving catastrophes
is the harmonious,
compassionate,
organic vegan diet.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
often conveys this simple
message to the world.
My heart is troubled
every day,
thinking of all
these innocent people and
all the defenseless animals
who have to suffer
in this great upheaval
we call climate change.
But we still have time.
We could not reverse the
effect of climate change
in the past.
Whatever happened due
to typhoons and floods
and earthquakes, etc.,
we could
not reverse the effect.
But we could
stop future disasters
by returning
to the compassionate
vegetarian diet
and encouraging others
to do the same.
The government
has the power to do this.
I beg all the governments
of the world, please,
do this before it’s too late,
for the sake
of your citizens and
your own children as well.
Thank you, caring viewers,
for joining us
on today’s program.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May we soon
have a world full of
bliss and tranquility.