Death toll 1,100 after floods in Pakistan

THE death toll from massive floods in northwestern Pakistan rose to 1,100 as rescue workers struggled to save more than 27,000 people still trapped by the raging water.

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

“Aerial monitoring is being conducted, and it has shown whole villages have washed away, animals have drowned and grain storages have washed away,” said Latifur Rehman, spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. “The destruction is massive.”

The flooding, which the UN estimates has affected a million people nationwide, comes at a time when the Pakistani government is already grappling with a faltering economy and a war against the Taliban.

The United States announced would provide Pakistan with $10 million (€7.6m) in humanitarian assistance, a high-profile gesture at a time when the Obama administration is trying to dampen anti-American sentiment in the country.

The 1,100 death toll from the flooding could go even higher since rescue workers have been unable to access certain areas, said Adnan Khan, a disaster management official.

Almost 700 people have drowned in the Peshawar valley, which includes the districts of Nowshera and Charsada, and 115 others are still missing, Khan said.

The districts of Swat and Shangla have also been hit and have suffered more than 400 deaths, said Mujahid Khan, the head of rescue services for the Edhi Foundation, a private charity.

Residents of Swat were still trying to recover from a major battle between the Army and the Taliban last spring that caused widespread destruction and drove some 2 million people from their homes. About 1 million of those were still displaced.

In Swat alone, the floods have destroyed more than 14,600 houses and 22 schools, said Khan.

Authorities have deployed 43 military helicopters and more than 100 boats to try to rescue some 27,300 people still trapped by the floods, said Rehman, the disaster management spokesman.

“All efforts are being used to rescue people stuck in inaccessible areas and all possible help is being provided to affected people,” said Rehman.

But some residents stepped up their criticism of the government’s response.

The military deployed 30,000 army troops who helped rescue more than 20,700 people, said Khan, the disaster management official. However, some people like Sehar Ali Shah who were rescued complained that authorities didn’t provide shelter.

“My son drowned, but I don’t see the government taking care of us,” said Shah after returning to his half-submerged house in the city of Nowshera. “The government has not managed an alternate place to shift us.”

The threat of disease loomed as some evacuees in the northwest arrived in camps with fever, diarrhoea and skin problems.