Pakistan on red alert as weather stops relief flights

Pakistan is on red alert today for extreme flooding in its rich agricultural south.

Authorities in the densely populated southern province of Sindh have warned that major floods in the next 48 hours will threaten hundreds of communities along the swollen Indus river.

Storms grounded helicopters carrying emergency supplies to Pakistan’s flood-ravaged north-west today as rain brought more destruction in its wake.

US Chinooks were hoping to reach to the upper areas of the hard-hit Swat Valley where many thousands are living in tents or crammed into public buildings.

Over the last week floods have spread from the north-west down Pakistan, killing around 1,500 people and affecting more than four million. Much of the destruction has come from the Indus River, which in better times irrigates vast swathes of farmland.

Some 30,000 Pakistani soldiers are rebuilding bridges, delivering food and setting up relief camps in the north-west, which is also the main battleground in the fight against al Qaida and the Taliban.

Foreign countries and the United Nations have donated millions of pounds to help.

Also helping out are Islamist charities, including at least one with links to a banned militant organisation.

The government has come under criticism for not doing enough, especially since President Asif Ali Zardari chose to go ahead with a trip to Europe at the height of the crisis.

In the Sukkur area of Sindh in southern Pakistan, 70 villages had been flooded over the last 24 hours, the navy said.

“Floods killed our people, they have ruined our homes and even washed away the graves of our loved ones. Yet we are here without help from the government,” said Mai Sahat, a 35-year-old women looking over a flooded landscape where her village used to be.

Saleh Farooqi, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority in Sindh, said about 200,000 people had been evacuated from areas where floods could hit, but many more were still living in the danger zone.

“About 500,000 people living near the Indus River do not realise the gravity of the situation, and they do not know how fast the water is rushing to their areas,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority said all helicopters currently stationed in the north-west were grounded because of poor weather.

Yesterday six helicopters flew their first sorties, picked up 800 stranded people and dropping off emergency aid.

The United States is unpopular in Pakistan, and Washington is hoping the relief missions will help improve its image. But the missions could draw criticism from Islamist politicians and others in Pakistan who are hostile to the idea of American boots on the ground, even if they are helping after a disaster.

The US military carried out larger operations in the aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, as it did in predominantly Muslim Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.