I'm sure many of you should have been aware by now, the recent disasters that have occurred in Asia.
Firstly, there was a cyclone that hit Myanmar last week.
"Cyclone Nargis hit five divisions and states -- Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon on May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon sustained the heaviest casualties and infrastructural damage.
The death toll of Myanmar's cyclone disaster kept rising with 3,480 more people killed, bringing the total to 31,938, according to a news report of the state radio Monday evening. "
For the full article, click this link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-05/13/content_6679171.htm
Then, just yesterday morning, a major quake struck China, the epicentre in the province of Sichuan, and the death toll had already exceeded 12,000.
"More than 18,000 people were still trapped in the rubble of Sichuan's second city today as Chinese troops battled through the disaster zone to devastated towns and villages cut off by yesterday's earthquake
As the official death toll climbed past 12,000, the official Xinhua agency reported that 3,639 people had been killed in Mianyang, a city near the epicentre of the 7.9-magnitude quake. A further 18,645 were still buried in the debris of collapsed buildings, beyond the reach of rescue teams, it said.
In another town, Beichuan, where 5,000 are feared dead, the old town had been almost completely buried by a landslide, residents said. In the new town, built on the banks of a river, the casualty toll was also expected to be high after the earthquake sent hundreds of buildings slipping into the water below.
The area has been hit by wave after wave of aftershocks, including a particularly violent tremor today measuring 6.1 that sent thousands of office workers in Chengdu rushing out into the open. Tens of thousands of people were already standing on the pavements huddling under umbrellas and makeshift plastic covers, sheltering from the rain, reluctant to return to their homes.
One said: "We are just too afraid that our homes will fall down."
For full article, click here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3921520.ece?token=null&offset=12
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It is just so sad, whenever any disaster happens, that people can lose their lives in just a matter of seconds because of the uncontrollable force of Mother Nature. Let's hope that they would all be able to rebuild their lives again and move on. May God be with them always. If you can, please pray for all those affected by these devastating disasters too.
