'12 million' directly hit by Pakistan floods
Updated on 06 August 2010
The Pakistani authorities say up to 12 million people may be directly affected by floods sweeping the country. Half a million people have been evacuated from Sindh as forecasters predict more heavy rains. Channel 4 News's Jonathan Miller in Pakistan, says aid is desperately needed.
As forecasters predict further rain, reports from the disaster committee in Pakistan suggest that up to 12 million people may have been directly affected by the continuing humanitarian disaster. The figure does not include those affected in Sindh which could see up to 80mm of rain over the weekend.
The authorities in Pakistan have evacuated half a million people from the province, the latest region due to be hit.
Channel 4 News Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller said the Pakistani army is now coordinating the relief effort and 2,000 troops have been deployed to "wage war on the water" as Pakistani army helicopters patrol the region plucking victims from the roofs of houses.
Floods have already devastated Pakistan's northwest corner as monsoon rains continue to fall generating the region's worst floods since 1929.
Over the weekend, it is predicted that floodwaters could heavily damage the mainly rural areas of Sindh after roaring down from the northwest and through the central agricultural heartland of Punjab, along a path at least 1,000 km (621 miles) long.
Michael O'Brien, of the Red Cross in Islamabad, told Channel 4 News that relief workers were having problems getting to some of the areas hit by the flooding.
"The problem is the devastation is so severe in some areas, for instance in the Swat Valley every single bridge has been destroyed so it is extremely difficult simply to get to places to assess the scale of the damage, let alone to manage to get relief to these people," he said.
A disaster of this scale needs a response from the international community, and that in itself provides some coordination challenges.
An appeal launched by the Disasters and Emergencies Committee (DEC) on Thursday has already raised £2.5m and the US government has pledged $35m (£22.2m) to the crisis.
DEC says its members and their partners have helped 300,000 survivors, providing emergency medical care, clean water, food and shelter.
Meanwhile, criticism of Pakistan's absent president Asif Zardari is increasing.
Despite the floods being the worst to affect the country since its formation, Mr Zardari has decided to stay in Europe.
Mr Zardari has been holding talks with Prime Minister David Cameron at Chequers today leaving Pakistan's prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to lead the government's response to the floods.
Addressing the nation for the first time since the disaster struck, Mr Gilani described the loss of human life and infrastructure as "colossal" and appealed for even more international help as forecasters predicted a grim picture for the weekend.
Meteorologist Hazrat Mir said flood waters are moving at high levels in north Sindh province and would enter the town of Sukkur by Saturday.
Those in low-lying areas of the Indus river are most vulnerable.
"There have been constant rains which have aggravated the situation in the areas already struck by floods," said Saleh Farooqui, the director general of the provincial Disaster Management Authority.
"People had to leave their homes because of floods and they now also have to face problems because of rains."
Neighbouring India is also experiencing flash floods, with an estimed 88 people being killed and 200 injured in the Ladakh region of the disputed Kashmir province.
Indian officials said dozens of people were still missing after the floods, which were triggered by unexpectedly heavy rain.
