Monsoon floods kill more than 1,600 in Pakistan's, 20 million people affected - Red Alert

[Ronan Kelly]

Monsoon floods kill 100 in Pakistan
Weather halts search for airliner's recorder
Daily Telegraph, with files from Agence France-Presse July 30, 2010

At least 100 people have been killed by rivers bursting their banks in northwest Pakistan, leading to the country's worst floods in 80 years.

And two days of monsoon rain hampered the search Thursday for the black box of an AirBlue airliner that slammed into hilly woodland on Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board, the nation's worst aviation disaster.


Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/...#ixzz0vAZsdXWB

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Re: Monsoon floods kill 100 in Pakistan

UN supporting efforts to help victims of Pakistani floods



29 July 2010 ? The United Nations is sending relief supplies to help victims in Pakistan of heavy floods, which are the worst that some parts of the Asian nation have seen in more than eight decades.

Heavy rains in recent days have triggered flash and river floods across Pakistan, causing death and widespread displacement, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Thousands of people have lost their homes and livelihoods, with the waters destroying crops and damaging roads and bridges.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province, is experiencing its worst flooding since 1929, with at least 400,000 people affected. Swat, Charsadda and 23 other badly-hit districts have received up to 29 centimetres of rain in the past 24 hours, the highest recorded rainfall in the region in the past 35 years.

Road links to the city of Peshawar in the province have been cut off, while the Swat River has broken its banks and there is a fear that the Indus River will soon overflow.

Government-led relief efforts are under way in KPK, with authorities having provided food, tents and other supplies, while in some areas, the army is evacuating people from their villages.

In Baluchistan province, flooding has reached seven districts, affecting some 150,000 people.

The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are providing tents and other items, while the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating with the Government to provide medicine.

For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) is ready to provide food if needed.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.as...loods&Kw2=&Kw3=

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 400 in Pakistan's northwest

Floods kill more than 400 in Pakistan's northwest

By Faris Ali
PESHAWAR | Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:37pm EDT


PESHAWAR (Reuters) - Heavy monsoon rains have triggered the worst floods in decades in Pakistan's northwest, killing more than 400 people and forcing thousands from their homes as authorities struggle to reach stranded villagers.

Three days of torrential rains caused rivers to burst their banks in several places and unleashed widespread destruction in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, destroying houses, bridges, schools, roads and railway tracks.

"According to initial reports received from all districts, 408 people have so far been killed" since Wednesday, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters in the provincial capital of Peshawar.

...

Read more:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66T3RS20100730

Floods kill more than 400 in Pakistan's northwest

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 400 in Pakistan's northwest

UN says deadly floods affect one million Pakistanis
AP


Rescuers trying to reach thousands of Pakistani flood victims were hampered by deluged roads and damaged bridges on Saturday, while fears of disease rose as some evacuees showed signs of diarrhoea, fever and other illnesses.

Floods killed more than 430 people in a week, left some 400,000 people stranded in far?flung villages and severely damaged the nation?s already?weak infrastructure. The U.N. estimated on Saturday that some one million people were affected, though it didn?t specify exactly what that meant.

In the northwest, the hardest?hit region, it was the worst flooding since 1929. People clung to fences and each other as water gushed over their heads, TV footage showed. Scores of men, women and children sat on roofs.

continues at;

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article544429.ece

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 400 in Pakistan's northwest

Pakistan Flooding Death Toll at 800 and Rising
Submitted by Candice Lucey on 2010-07-31
Monsoons in Pakistan have killed at least 800 people and destroyed thousands of homes reports the New York Times. Though drowning and other deaths resulting from direct flooding impact account for some fatalities, many will die of disease or hunger.

Pakistan?s government is already under enormous pressure, dealing with Islamic insurgence and the aftermath of a plane crash killing 152 people at the base of the Himalayas just days ago. Still, army relief continues with helicopters, trucks and boats arriving to rescue people on the roofs of houses or wading through fetid water. Meanwhile, there is widespread public resentment and anger towards a government which is thought to be doing too little. If President Asif Ali Zardari continues as planned with his trip to Britain, his popularity could plummet even further.

Immediate concerns focus on additional flood risk from dams and barrages which are holding back rising water. What Pakistan seems to need right now is help from overseas disaster relief experts such as the Israelis, known for their organization and efficiency when it comes to natural disasters and terrorist aftermath. Trained professionals and dedicated equipment has saved countless lives from under the rubble of collapsed buildings brought down by bombs and earthquakes, such as in Kenya and Haiti respectively.

Meanwhile, public health has always been a concern, motivating help from USAID, delegates from which visited Islamabad late in June to look at improvements in health care and advise on ways to make it even better.

Developing nations often experience higher instances of sickness and mortality caused by illnesses rarely witnessed in western nations. Now, with water-borne illness and bugs, people who survived the flood itself may die of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery; respiratory infections, leptospirosis (affecting the liver) and hepatitis A or E. Add to this the scarcity of supplies and malnutrition will arise, leading to more illness and death. Wherever people wait for relief aid, add violence caused by desperate want leading to more fatalities.

The people of Pakistan know to expect Monsoon season from June to September. They can count on heavy rains and potential flooding, so what was done ahead of time to protect prevent tragedy? According to the Pakistan Daily Times, recent recommendations included anti-encroachment measures ? basically, cleaning drains. Important to both sanitation and reduced flooding, over 20 kilometers had already been cleared while many more kilometers required attention.

In the case of especially heavy rains, this may not have been enough. Clearly measures were being taken, but only after the country has recovered will officials be able to measure whether the extent of this tragedy could have been lessened through proactive policies and efficient relief organization from within the country itself.

http://www.huliq.com/10020/pakistan-flooding-death-toll-800-and-rising

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 800 in Pakistan's northwest

Death toll from Pakistan monsoon floods hits 900

Rescue workers struggled today to save more than 27,000 people still trapped by massive flooding in Pakistan?s north-west that has killed over 900 people and destroyed thousands of homes, officials said.

The effort has been aided by a slackening of the monsoon rains that have caused the worst flooding in decades in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province. But as flood waters have started to recede, authorities have begun to understand the full scale of the disaster.

?Aerial monitoring is being conducted, and it has shown that whole villages have washed away, animals have drowned and grain storages have washed away,? said Latifur Rehman, spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority

continues at;

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0801/breaking29.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 900 in Pakistan's northwest

Pakistani flood death toll 1,300, reports

Residents of Nowshera who sheltered in a mosque wait to be evacuated by the army
ReutersBy RFI
The death toll from floods in Pakistan has now reached 1,300, according to local media. There are reports of cholera and other water-borne diseases, officials say.

The soaring death toll, reported by Geo TV, comes as the rains slack off but more bodies are still being found. In Peshawar, the main city in the north-west, 690 are officially declared dead, reports correspondent Behroz Khan, while local disaster management officials saying that at least 500 more have died in the surrounding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

At least 150 people are still missing.

continues at;

http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20100801-flood-death-toll-tops-1000-reports

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,300 in Pakistan's northwest

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=NewsDetailsTitle>ICRC, WHO assist flood victims in Pakistan </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=NewsDetailsCategory>Health 8/2/2010 4:21:00 PM</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

GENEVA, Aug 2 (KUNA) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday that the flooding caused by torrential monsoon rains in Pakisatn has killed more than 1,100 people, affecting up to 2.5 million people across the country in the past week.
ICRC said, according to official data, in the worst-affected areas, entire villages were washed away without warning by walls of flood water. Thousands of people have lost everything, as homes, livestock, farm machinery and other possessions were simply swept away. In addition, many crops that were not immediately destroyed are now under water.
"In a country that is no stranger to natural disasters, this crisis has its own dimension: because so many people have lost literally all that they had, we now need to urgently distribute not only food but also the means to cook it.
Items such as cooking sets and dry fuel are required for the flood victims, as is shelter," said Muhammad Ateeb Siddiqui, director of operations of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
"The distribution of relief is severely constrained by damaged infrastructure, and the widespread contamination of water supplies has the potential to create major health problems." he added.
Roads, bridges, health-care facilities and schools have suffered massive damage. Main highways are cut as bridges across the country's swollen northern rivers have been washed away. Flood-affected communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and throughout the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are especially isolated.

...

Read more:

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2104162&Language=en

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,300 in Pakistan's northwest

REPORT <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>


PAKISTAN RED CRESCENT AND RED CROSS RESPONDS TO MONSOON FLOODS 2010
To see report, click on photo below<o:p></o:p>

Pakistan Red Crescent Society was founded on December 20, 1947 by the order ?The Pakistan Red Cross Order? courtesy Quaid-e- Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Governor General of Pakistan and Founder President of the Society. The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) recognized PRCS on July 21, 1948. Later it was admitted as a member of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Now called International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies-IFRC) on August 18, 1948. Pakistan Red Cross Society was renamed as Pakistan Red Crescent Society in 1973.

PRCS is a humanitarian organization, dedicated to improving lives of vulnerable segments of the society. The core areas of the work, in line with the overall strategy of PRCS, are Disaster Management, Health Care and promotion of Humanitarian Values supported by an ongoing process of Organizational Development. The Society in its working draws inspiration from the seven fundamental principles of the 'Movement', namely: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.The main activities of the Society are relief work during and after disasters, both natural and man made, and primary health and welfare services for the less privileged and marginalized people. These include over 220 hospitals / MHUs / dispensaries, first aid trainings, ambulance services, blood donation centres, hygiene promotion and psycho-social support. In these facilities every year over 1.2 million people are provided health care. In last four years PRCS has provided relief assistance to over 4 million people and her contribution worth PKR 7 billion ...more

http://www.prcs.org.pk/

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,300 in Pakistan's northwest

UNICEF responds as floods affect over 3 million in north-western Pakistan

NEW YORK, USA, 2 August 2010 ? More than 1,400 people are dead and more than a million children are in need of emergency assistance after the worst floods to hit Pakistan since 1929 devastated large parts of the country in recent days.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, located in the mountains of north-western Pakistan, is the province worst affected by the floods. Many of the province?s estimated 3.5 million residents lost their crops and saw their homes flooded, damaged or destroyed.

?Crucial needs?

Communication networks in many areas remain down or disrupted, and ground access is limited because bridges, highways and roads have been blocked or destroyed by the floods.


?There are crucial needs for food and safe drinking water,? said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Martin Mogwanja. ?Potential disease outbreaks among survivors are a major concern.?

Mr. Mogwanja has just returned from visits to two flood-affected agricultural districts where UNICEF is working to prevent the spread of deadly diarrhoeal diseases in young children.

Providing safe water to the hundreds of thousands of people whose water supply has been polluted or damaged by the floods is now essential. UNICEF is working with the Pakistani authorities to repair wells and drinking water sources as quickly as possible ? and to provide chlorine tablets so that water can be treated before it is consumed.

A firsthand view

On an aerial tour of the region, Mr. Mogwanja was able to see firsthand how communities were affected by the floods.


?Houses were literally swimming in the midst of muddy water,? he said. ?Crops had been washed away or destroyed, trees were pushed down by the strength of the water, and walls of buildings had crumbled and fallen.?

During his tour of the flood zone, Mr. Mogwanja also stopped for ground visits in two districts where survivors recounted having to climb trees or go to rooftops to save their own lives. He also met people whose relatives had perished in the floods and who were now struggling to keep their loved ones? bodies dry for proper burials once the floodwaters recede.

?It?s very difficult to tell how long the recovery effort will take,? said Mr. Mogwanja. He estimated that at least three to six months of work will be needed to restore just the basic facilities that have been destroyed.

Fears of renewed flooding

The floodwaters are beginning to recede in some parts of the affected provinces. However, new storm systems are moving into the area and experts fear renewed flooding.

?There?s going to be great needs in terms of water, shelter and assuring the health care of the population because of water-borne diseases,? said Mr. Mogwanja.

Food security will also present a challenge, he noted, adding. ?Much of the food stocks have been lost.?

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/pakistan_55400.html

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,400 in Pakistan's northwest, 3.5 million people affected

PAKISTAN: Refusing to budge


<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #bbbbbb 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eeeeee; MARGIN: 2px 5px 8px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; WIDTH: 120px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #bbbbbb 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 3px" align=right>
Photo: Abdul Majeed Goraya/IRIN
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 7pt" class=ImgCreditCaption>A submerged street near Nowshera, Kyhber-Pakhtunkhwa province</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
MULTAN, 4 August 2010 (IRIN) - People in Pakistan?s most populous province of Punjab, and in the southern province of Sindh, where serious flooding could be imminent, are extremely reluctant to abandon their homes and farms and move to higher ground, as the authorities are urging them.

?This looks very bad,? said 70-year-old Jamal Ahmed perusing newspaper pictures of flood-stricken people in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP). ?But me and my sons will not leave our home.?

Ahmed and his extended family live several kilometres outside the city of Multan in Punjab Province, on the banks of the River Chenab and in the geographic centre of the country. Local officials have warned them to move to escape possible floods.

?We will not leave our possessions or our cattle to go to some camp. We need to stay here and protect our water buffalo, otherwise how will we live once the waters recede?? asked Ahmed.


<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #bbbbbb 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eeeeee; MARGIN: 2px 8px 8px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; WIDTH: 180px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #bbbbbb 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #cccccc 1px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; COLOR: #006699; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Read more</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> Floods send food prices higher</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> Dozens of Afghan refugees missing, thousands displaced</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> Stranded on rooftops</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> More rain expected as floods kill over 800</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> Flash floods wreak havoc</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> GLOBAL: Could be a busy season for disasters</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-LEFT: 8px; FONT: 10px tahoma; COLOR: #006699; PADDING-TOP: 8px"> Timeline on human displacement since September 2009</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
According to a 3 August update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Sindh is ?bracing for the biggest floods in 34 years?.

In the town of Sukkur on the banks of the River Indus in Sindh Province - and 450km south of Multan - local authorities have for several days been trying to persuade people to move to relief camps.

Authorities? dilemma

This widespread reluctance to move, even in the face of mounting danger, is posing a dilemma for the authorities.

?Some villagers have been shifting, but if others continue to refuse we will need to use force,? Sumair Syed, a district administration official, told IRIN. The army and paramilitary forces are present in the area and media reports say gas and power connections have been cut in a bid to persuade people to move.

?People don?t want to leave their homes, here in Multan or elsewhere, because they know conditions at camps are usually miserable and people are treated with a lack of respect,? social worker Khadim Muhamad, 50, told IRIN. He cited the example of Cyclone Phet, which threatened coastal areas in June, and the evacuation of people from fishing villages around Karachi to makeshift camps.

?But they [the evacuees] returned home almost immediately because the conditions were inadequate, with no provision for the most basic needs,? Muhamad said, adding that the shelter offered sometimes consisted of little more than a canvas or polythene sheet stretched over stakes. ?In stifling hot weather people cannot live like this,? he said.

A district administration official in the Multan area, who preferred anonymity, said if people did not move ?there is bound to be death and injury. But if we force or pressurize them to move, we come in for criticism, as does the government.?


<TABLE style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #bbbbbb 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #cccccc 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eeeeee; MARGIN: 2px 5px 8px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; WIDTH: 180px; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP: #cccccc 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #bbbbbb 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 3px" align=right>
Photo: OCHA
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 7pt" class=ImgCreditCaption>Pakistan floods as of 3 August 2010 (See larger version of map)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Meanwhile, in KP rising water levels in the Warsak Dam, the third largest reservoir in the country, are threatening residents of the northern outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital, but many are refusing to be evacuated.

?We will begin forced evacuations if necessary,? Adnan Khan, a spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority, said.

Cultural factors

Cultural factors are also influencing people?s decision not to move.

?I cannot imagine staying in a room with strangers. On TV I have seen dozens of men and women lying in one space,? said Zahida Khatoon, who lives in a village 20km from Multan.

Like many women in southern areas of Punjab Province, she has never been to school, observes strict `purdah? (the practice of keeping a low profile and covering up to prevent women from being seen by men) and says she has never spent a night outside her own home. ?Even death may be better than camp life for me,? she said.

kh/ed/cb

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=90060

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,400 in Pakistan's northwest, 3.5 million people affected

UN issues warning that deadly flooding could soon spread to southern Pakistan

Millions have now been driven from their homes by the floods in Pakistan.

6 August 2010 ? With monsoon rains expected to continue pummeling Pakistan for several more weeks, the United Nations warned today that the country?s south could also be affected by deadly flooding, which has already affected millions of people.

Martin Mogwanja, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, told reporters in New York via telephone today that the devastation wrought by the current flooding is on par with that caused by the earthquake that struck the country in 2005.

He said that the floods ? the worst in Pakistan in living memory ? have affected 4 million people so far, with at least 1.5 million people having lost their homes.

Mr. Mogwanja said that 1,400 people have been killed so far, ?but this number may rise as new bodies may be found.?

The monsoon season, he pointed out, could last up to four more weeks, with the possibility that the flooding ? currently concentrated in northern Pakistan ? could move south towards the Indian Ocean, affecting millions more people.

Already, the central areas of Sindh province in the south have felt the effects of flooding.

The search-and-rescue and evacuation phase has come to an end, with many people having been moved to safer areas by helicopters and boats.

UN agencies have been rushing relief to the area since the early days of the disaster. The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided 500 metric tons of food, while the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF) has distributed enough clean drinking water for 700,000 people. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has supplied 11,000 tents and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has distributed dozens of cholera kits for health centres.

?However, this is only a small fraction of the response required given the scale of this disaster and also its geographic scope,? Mr. Mogwanja stressed.
In the hard-hit province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province, it is estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of those in need of assistance have received help, but there are still many who have not been reached with aid.

?This is of great concern to us, which is why we are acting as quickly as we can,? the Coordinator stressed.

Earlier this week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that up to $10 million will be disbursed from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), set up in 2006 to allow the UN to dispatch funds to tackle disasters and crises as soon as they emerge, to help address needs in Pakistan following the floods.

In addition, Mr. Mogwanja said that the UN has set up an emergency relief fund, with nearly $10 million received so far. UN agencies have also received $16 million for their work.

?However, this response so far is not sufficient to enable UN agencies and their partners to address the extent of the crisis,? he underlined, adding that a flash appeal to deal with the disaster will soon be launched by the UN and its humanitarian partners.

An initial emergency response plan is being prepared to cover immediate relief needs ? such as food, health care, clean water, shelter, agriculture and others ? for the next 90 days.

The UN, Mr. Mogwanja said, is using its contingency stocks and has diverted funds, but ?all this is just running out given the scale and scope of this crisis.?

He estimated that between $150 million and $200 million, or possibly more, will be required for relief and longer-term recovery to allow people to rebuild their livelihoods and repair infrastructure, with many bridges and roads having been washed away by the floods.

?In some affected areas, crops have been destroyed or severely damaged, which will significantly affect livelihoods in the medium-term,? Catherine Bragg, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said yesterday.

UNICEF today appealed for more than $47 million to fund its relief operation in Pakistan, where 1.4 million children have been affected by the flooding.

The agency said it will concentrate on the critical areas of water and sanitation, health, nutrition, education and child protection.

For its part, UNHCR today called for $21 million to help those affected by floods, including Afghan refugees and Pakistani host communities.

It initially hopes to support more than 350,000 of the most vulnerable among the flood-affected population. The UN is also helping thousands of people in neighbouring Afghanistan, where monsoon rains have also caused flooding.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.as...r=pakistan&Cr1=

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,600 in Pakistan's, 15 million people affected - Red Alert

Pakistan on red alert for fresh floods as 15 million affected

Posted: 07 August 2010 1551 hrs

Excerpts:

DURRANI MEHAR, Pakistan : Pakistan raced to evacuate families threatened with fresh floods on Saturday as heavy rains worsened the disaster in its second week, with up to 15 million people already affected.
...

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appealed for immediate international help to cope with the country's worst ever floods, which have already devastated provinces in the country's northwest and centre.

"I would ask the international community to support and help Pakistan alleviate the sufferings of flood-affected people," Gilani said in a televised address to the nation on Friday night.

"Pakistan has been hit by worst floods of its history," he said.
...

Flooding has spread to Indian-held Kashmir, where at least 115 people have died, while large parts of Pakistan's Punjab are also under water.

"The scale of the needs is absolutely daunting," Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said Friday.

More than 252,000 homes are thought to have been damaged or destroyed across Pakistan and 1.38 million acres (558,000 hectares) of crop land flooded, and it could take weeks before electricity is fully restored.


Full article:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1073949/1/.html

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,600 in Pakistan's, 15 million people affected - Red Alert

Pakistan PM calls for help as fresh rains hamper flood aid

Posted: 08 August 2010 2145 hrs

TORI BAND, Pakistan : Fresh rains lashed flood-hit Pakistan on Sunday, hampering aid efforts and threatening to deepen a crisis affecting 15 million people in the country's worst ever floods.

Helicopters were grounded in the northwest while rescuers rushed to evacuate families in the southern farming belt of Sindh, where officials were readying for a deluge that could burst the banks of the swollen Indus river.

New downpours hammered the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, with experts predicting yet more rain to come, adding to the misery of the millions made homeless by the destructive floods.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited flood-hit areas of Sindh province, calling again for international aid as he said the disaster had spiralled beyond the government's capacity.

"Millions of people have suffered and still there is more rain and further losses are feared. I appeal to the world to help us, we are doing what we can," Gilani told reporters, as he urged those threatened by the "unprecedented" floods to move to safer areas.

"The government has done everything possible but it is beyond our capacity, we are facing an extremely difficult situation," he said.

Nine more people, including women and children, were reported killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by the floods, which the UN estimates have claimed at least 1,600 lives.

...

Read more:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1074125/1/.html

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Re: Monsoon floods kill more than 1,600 in Pakistan's, 15 million people affected - Red Alert

Situation in Pakistan is complicated by diseases that left extensive flooding

Of about 15 000 patients have been treated by the health team, most of them presents cases of diarrhea, scabies and other skin problems, according to Ullah Irfan. Meanwhile, the United Nations Organization (UNO) figure in 5000 affected by diarrhea.
TeleSUR ago: 03 hours
Floods in northern Pakistan, which have affected 12 million people have already made complicated cases of diarrhea and skin infections in a large number of settlers, while the situation worsens saturated after two major dams on Sunday that left under water several villages in the south.

"The health situation is very dangerous. Most of those affected continues to receive medical attention days after" the beginning of the crisis, the media said the deputy director of Health, Red Crescent in Pakistan, Irfan Ullah.

A statement issued Sunday by the Office of the United Nations for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimated that at least 600 000 people trapped in the northwest which seems to be only accessible by helicopter or boat.

"The biggest problem we are facing is the destruction of infrastructure. Only in the Swat valley (north) about 60 bridges have collapsed . The assistance does not arrive, "the spokesman said Pakistan International Committee of the Red Cross Michael O'Bryan.

The same source explained that "the floods have contaminated water in large areas," so "has been put in place a mechanism to ensure that if there is outbreak (of disease), we can address them."

He ruled out the occurrence of Bort said cholera and cases of diarrhea and skin infections is something some "regular" at this type of natural phenomena.

"We believe that (the risk of spreading disease) is serious," adding that "water is heavily polluted, so we have experts and engineers exploring wells, purified water and repair supplies."

One of the provinces most affected by heavy rainfall , considered the worst in the history of the South Asian country in the past eight decades, is the northwestern town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid agencies have implemented a number of medical units to provide the service to victims who live the harsh waters for several days has washed away homes, bridges and health posts.

Heavy rains this year have made an alarming increase in the level of flow of the Indus River that has caused havoc in the Southeast.

"The situation continues to worsen in the Sindh province (south). Many areas are totally or partially flooded. We estimate that in the last hours between 330 and 340 villages have been flooded by water," said a spokesman for the National Authority Disaster Management (NDMA), Ahmad Kamal.

.

Two major dams in the region, those of Guddu and Sukkur, began to crack on Saturday night after overcoming the limit of their capacity.

In this scenario, Kamal said: "We hope that the dam (from Guddu) can hold, but we may have to break a dam or canal. This will affect some areas but allow saving as part of the infrastructure."

In the southern region of Sindh, more rain expected next week according to weather forecasts so that the authorities continue evacuating people.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, asked Sunday to evacuate people in areas that present the greatest threat.

Gilani, who admitted that the crisis "has exceeded the capacity" to the authorities, described the catastrophe as "greater than the earthquake of 2005" in the northern region of Kashmir and called for help from the international community.

According to current data, floods have killed at least 162 thousand people since late July and have affected 12 million people. http://translate.googleusercontent.c...5WCQI1zeT1f5_A