Last summer, there were serious damages caused by sudden rain in Korea. Even areas that had never been flooded were badly damaged by it. My village was also flooded for the first time. So all the village people protested to the ward office. They thought that damages by a flood were caused by careless river bank management of the ward office, but the ward officers didn't think so. Indeed, were the damages caused by nature? I think that the damages were caused by humans. Here are three reasons.
　　　 First, there were careless weather forecasts and late warnings. Most people depend on the weather forecast on TV or radio and trust it. But during that heavy rain, the weather forecast disappointed many people. Before the heavy rain, weather-casters reported that it wouldn't be a very heavy rain. Of course, it isn't that weather-casters reported a lie, but they had to give warning to prevent even trivial damages. The heavy rain warning during the pouring rain and restoring damages by a flood afterward isn't different from "locking thestable door after the horse is stolen." Above all, when an unusual change of weather occurs, like guerrilla rain, quick information helps to decrease the loss of lives and damages to property. When my village was flooded, village people carried their household electric appliances to the upper floors. And only when the water came up to my waist, did a police officer blow his whistle and shout to people to evacuate their homes. Then, all the people came out of their homes in a hurry and escaped to a hilly section of my village. There wasn't a loss of lives, but the village people just looked at their houses under water and deplored. If the warning had been given earlier, the loss of property could have been decreased. Now science is developing wonderfully, and also the weather survey is more precise. Therefore if the weather forecast decomes exhaustive and quick, the worst damages by a flood will be controlled.
　　　 A second problem was a loose river bank. Contrary to damages by a typical spell of rainy weather, this time damages occurred in unexpected areas. Especially, residential streets around rivers were badly damaged by rain, for example, No-won Village, Do-bong-dong, and my village--Gong-rung-dong, beside the Jung-rang River. So there were many flood sufferers, and they had to stay in a nearby church or school. I had never thought there was flood danger in my village, and most of the flood sufferers thought the same. So every one was surprised and confused. Lately, I found out that the flood in my village was caused by the collapse of the river bank. I think that the major cause for it was a peace-at-any-price principle. A few years ago, in a spell of rainy weather, Jung-rang River had a danger of flooding, but the ward officers didn't take necessary action and management. Now everyone must not think that damages by a flood aren't their business. And like the saying, "Providing is preventing," the government must repair and continuously manage every river bank.
　　　 Last, there was inconsiderate construction. It is true that our country is small, but construction on inappropriate land is running unnecessary risk. In my village, the collapse of the river bank was partially caused by the construction of a parking lot beside the river. If the ward officers thought more of the bank than the parking lot, my village would have been safe. Residential streets close to the river were another cause of damage by a flood. Moreover, an inconsiderate building permit of the government often becomes a social issue, and they don't correct the error at once. Now some people are trying to　 economize our land by, for example, decreasing the amount of land used for cemeteries and reclaiming land by drainage. Therefore the government must take a cautious attitude in issuing building permits.
　　　 There are still many flood sufferers that haven't overcome the damages caused by the floods, and they are disputing with the government about the compensation issue. Most of them are members of the helpless middle class. I can't consider those damages to have been caused by the force of nature, because, in spite of reducing the damages, human beings were absentminded and careless during that time. If we were careful of the weather change, took pains to protect the river bank, and built appropriately, the worst damages of last summer would not have occurred. Maybe human beings are lower animals in nature, but they have overcome nature, and sometimes opposed it. Therefore, I think that now human beings are no longer helpless in nature. Finally, I hope that flood sufferers' pains will be overcome as soon as possible, regardless of whether the damages were caused by nature or humans.