More rain as Pakistan floods sweep south
As relief workers struggle to reach marooned flood victims, Jonathan Miller joins a US helicopter distributing aid in north western Pakistan as Kylie Morris reports on the floods surging south.
Almost 20 days since heavy monsoon rains began to fall in Pakistan, the resulting floodwaters have been moving through Sindh province in the south of the country.
Rain has continued falling in the north west Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province leading to fears that barrages on the swollen Indus river may be breached, especially in Sukkur in northern Sindh.
Channel 4 News Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller joined a US relief helicopter in the north, where rain water has thundered down mountains 7,000-8,000 feet high, washing away everything on the valley floors.
He said the geography has completely changed – with the flood waters carving out new channels. The only way to access people with aid is by foot, donkey or helicopter.
People have continued to evacuate towns and villages. Desperate residents of Karam Pur, a village around 70 kilometres from Sukkur, fled as flood water entered their houses.
“We have nothing to eat. We have left our livestock there. Villagers could only save their families,” said resident Hafiz Mahmood.
“I saw the flood with my own eyes and I lost my house.” Nisa Ali
Once on dry ground however the wait for aid begins.
“After we have saved our children, we sit here on the road. We have been sitting here for the last two days.
“I saw the flood with my own eyes and I lost my house,” said another villager Nisa Ali.
Some villagers are staying behind because they hope the waters will recede and they can go back to farming their fields.
Others think they can salvage what remains of their homes even though they are surrounded by water.
Persuading stranded people to agree to leave their villages is one of the biggest challenges for authorities, who have limited resources and must act quickly in case fresh rains cause more devastation.
So far, it’s estimated that just over one million people in Sindh have been affected by what have become the worst floods in Pakistan’s history and the Pakistani government estimates that already 1.8 million people may have lost their homes in Sindh alone.
Across the country the disaster has claimed the lives of 1,600 people and it is now believed to have affected 14 million.
Aid is slowly getting through but poor weather conditions and challenging terrain have hampered relief agencies’ access to some of the worst affected areas.
The Pakistan government has appealed for more aid from the international community. An appeal launched last week in the UK by the Disasters Emergency Committee has already raised £7m.
However, the Pakistani Taliban which is allied to al-Qaida has asked the government not to accept Western aid saying it will fund the relief effort itself.
President Asif Zardari has finally returned to Pakistan after controversially continuing a visit to Europe as his country disappeared under floodwaters.
Anger is growing that the president did not return home to take charge of the relief effort.