400 Killed in Flooding in Pakistan, Officials Say

NYT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, 31 July 2010: More than 400 people have died and thousands of others were made homeless as some of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history hit this northwestern region, provincial officials said. Hundreds of thousands of people were believed to be unable to evacuate to safer ground while the authorities struggled to reach the worst affected areas, officials said.

 

The information minister for the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa Province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, put the death toll at 408 in the flooding that followed two days of record rainfall.The region used to be known as the North-West Frontier Province. He warned that the death toll could rise because many towns and villages remained inaccessible, and telecommunication infrastructure had been damaged.

 

 

Much of the province has been cut off from the rest of the country. Floodwaters have either inundated or damaged all roads and railroad tracks. “This is the worst ever calamity in our history,” Mr. Hussain said at a news conference. “Whatever that had survived terrorist bombings have been washed away by the floods.”

 

He added: “We need help and we need it now. Otherwise, we will have no other option to spend every penny that we have for salaries and development projects for the rehabilitation of the affected people.” Gen. Nadeem Ahmad, the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, called on the United Nations for helicopters and shelters to help evacuate residents. But there was growing public anger and complains about the government’s inability to promptly respond.

 

 

In some areas, the water was as high as 18 feet, and residents were desperately waiting for food on their rooftops. “There were no boats, so we had to use our beds or inflate tubes to float to safer places,” said Ghani Mohammad in Charsadda, one of the worst-affected districts. “We have not received any help. There is no food and no water.” Mr .Hussain said: “We have enough food stocks, but where would you drop packages if you have water all around you?”

 

The Swat Valley, where rehabilitation and reconstruction work had just begun after a military operation to flush out militants last year, has also been hit hard. At least 25 bridges have been washed away there. Mr. Hussain said that 2,800 tourists trapped in Kalam in Swat had been evacuated. He said that his government had used 17 helicopters to pull out the trapped people. “But we all know that this is not enough,” he added.