Thursday, August 12, 2010

Desperation as Pakistan flood misery grows



Stricken communities caught in Pakistan's devastating floods are growing increasingly desperate, local officials say. Floodwater triggered by heavy monsoon rains is surging south along the Indus River, forcing people from their homes. Mohsin Leghari, a member of the Punjab regional assembly, told the BBC that many had lost everything. The UN has launched an appeal for $459m (£290m) to help the estimated 14 million people affected by the floods.

At least 1,600 people have died in the floods and many more are missing. Mr Leghari, who lives near the Indus River in Punjab, said people were without shelter - at the mercy of the rain or the sun. "If it rains that brings misery and if it is sunny, then the sun brings misery," he told the BBC's World Today programme. "With all the water, the humidity level goes up so much that it becomes difficult to breathe. Their crops have gone, their livestock has gone, the infrastructure, the roads are gone.

"Right now our land link with the rest of the country is gone. Right now the shortage of essential commodities is beginning to show." He said items in short supply included cooking oil, flour and sugar. "Everything seems to be coming to a very critical situation right now," he added. Mr Leghari said government relief had been arriving very slowly. "We are a poor country and our resources are very limited," he said. "We are not equipped to handle this kind of a disaster."

He said those delivering aid were being confronted by desperate people. "When you go in with 500 ration packages and there are 5,000 people out there who are expecting it, there is chaos People attack you because they are desperate," he said. "Their children are starving, their elderly mothers are starving. So they have to be desperate. I don't blame them." UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said money raised by the appeal would be for immediate relief over the next three months.

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