Flood is not a phenomenon

The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it.
水能載舟，亦能覆舟

This is an ancient Chinese slang that describes both constructive and destructive sides of a power. Water was used as an example in this case. In real life, particularly nowadays, water plays a far more dramatically role throughout the planet.

這是一句古老的中國諺語，它描述了一股同時具備創造與毀滅的力量。在這句話中，水便是這樣的存在。而在真實世界中，尤其是現今，水更是在這個星球的每個角落扮演著戲劇性的角色。


Physically, it is generally agreed that sunlight, air and water are the majority elements for us to live and 70% of a human body is filled with water, the same proportion to earth. Geographically, rivers on continents breed agriculture, villages and civilian lives. Historically, most famous ancient cities  have river(s) crossed. In short, human beings cannot live without water.

一般認同在物理上，陽光、空氣、水是我們賴以維生的三大元素。而水佔據了人體的70%，這比例與地球相同；地理上，大陸上的河川孕育了農業、村落及平民百姓們；歷史上，河流穿越了多數知名的古老城市。簡而言之，人類的生存不能沒有水。


A shortage of water endangers our food, sanitation and daily lives while overflowed water directly ruins our homes. Severe floods have been taken places more frequently than before these years:

水資源匱乏會危急到我們的糧食、公共衛生以及生活所需，而過多的水則直接毀壞我們的家園。嚴重的水災在這幾年以越來越頻繁的姿態發生在世界各地

Zhouqu, China (中國 舟曲), August, 2010
Pakistan (巴基斯坦), July, 2010
Central European (歐洲中部), June, 2010
Tennessee (美國田納西州), May 2010
Southeast US (美國東南部), September, 2009
Taiwan (台灣), August, 2009


Yearly floods @Wikipedia:
2005(2), 2006(9), 2007(15), 2008(16), 2009(17), 2010(27)

A railroad bridge damaged by Typhoon Morakot is seen in Taitung, eastern Taiwan August 8, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer) (via The Big Picture)

As one of those who witnessed the flood caused by Typhoon Morakot, I was strongly shocked by the cruelty and heartlessness of water. Over 1,000mm of daily rainfall has brought sever cloudburst from mountain areas. Illegally felled trees were flushed into overflowed rivers alone with countless rocks and dirt, and it became unstoppable landslides which destroyed everything on the way.

身為其中一個目睹莫拉克風災所帶來的災害的見證人，我對水的殘酷與無情嚴重地感到震驚。超過1,000公釐的單日降雨量在山區帶來了驚人的雨量。違法盜伐的樹木從那兒被沖進暴漲的溪河當中，連同無數的石塊與泥土變成無法阻擋的土石流，毀滅了在它通過那條路上的所有事物。


I spent a week in the southeast disaster area helping clean up the mess. Scenes were seen and stories were told about how water became a killer from a saver. In addition, there were many obvious and unseen reasons cause by human which strengthen the damages of the flood. Most of them were pointed to over-development where forests and mountainside were removed to build houses or farmlands. Without lands which helps preserve and adjust water, heavy rain goes no where but those buildings and farmlands.

在東南部的災區，我待了一個星期協助清理災區。一幕幕的畫面與一則則的故事，訴說著水如何從拯救者變成了屠宰者。此外，還有許多看得見的與看不見的，由人類所造成的因素加劇了惡水所帶來的災害。絕大多數都指向了造成森林與山地消失的過度開發，而那些土地則成為房舍與農地。沒有可以保存並調節水份的土地，暴雨無處可去，只能沖向這些建築和農田。


In another word, to some extent, urbanisation enhanced the destruction and/or weaken the protection against floods.In my opinion this is not inevitable if one thing is considered before the constructions: figure out ways for water to go. In my city, the Taipei city government were building dikes alongside rivers to prevent it from being overflowed. Back to four thousand years ago, Yu the Great,  the ancient Chinese emperor, contrarily dredged channels for water to flow into rivers and the ocean. On the other hand, the experts of converting ocean into lands -- the Dutches, are changing their land policies and building impressive "floating houses" to live with water.

換句話說，某種程度上，都市化加強了水災的破壞，並削弱大地自我保護的機制。在我看來，這並非是個無可避免的結果，只要在都市化前先考慮到一點：給水一條路走。在我居住的地方，市政府在河川的沿岸築滿了堤防以預防河水暴漲。而回到四千年前的古中國，皇帝舜卻反其道而行，採用掘溝渠的方式讓水流進河川與大海。另方面，以填海造陸聞名的荷蘭人，如今一改他們的土地政策而建造出「漂浮屋」與水共生。


Floods nowadays are just like sea level rise, both strongly affected by Global Warming and Extreme Weather. No matter it is caused by human activities or just natural phenomenon, the number of deaths it brings is still growing up. Trying to live peacefully with the nature and moderate the damages we produce against the earth is our responsibility for our children and the planet. Just like what I have concluded on the Blog Action Day 2009, the increasing floods cannot be regarded as simply a phenomenon, it is a serious task which need to be resolved.

水災如今與海平面上升一樣，都受全球暖化與氣候異變影響而加劇。不論這是由人類活動造成的，或者只是規律的自然現象，它所帶走的生命仍在不斷增加中。為了我們的子孫與這個星球，嘗試與自然和平共處，並穩定我們所製造出的破壞，是我們的責任。如同我在Blog Action Day 2009所做的結論一樣，越來越多的水災不能輕易地被視為一種現象，而是一個必需被解決的課題。



Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

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