More bad news for them .
New Flood Warnings Raise Fears in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan issued new flood warnings on Thursday that could last into the weekend as government and relief agencies scrambled to confront the toll from a growing humanitarian disaster.
The new warnings to several cities in Punjab and Sindh Provinces added to the desperation of survivors and relief workers across the country facing a daily struggle for survival and to prevent outbreaks of disease.
President Asif Ali Zardari, who came under stinging criticism for making a trip to Europe as the flood disaster unfolded, made his first tour of flood-hit areas on Thursday since his return to the country this week, news reports said.
The United Nations has estimated that at least one-fifth of the country is underwater, but the scope of damage seems far greater. About 14 million people have been affected by the floods, 6 million of them are children, according to the United Nations children's organization, usually known as Unicef. Estimates of the dead have ranged between 1,200 and 1,600.
Beyond the daily rising toll of dead, displaced and starving, experts assessing the crisis said much remained to be learned of the short-term relief needs and the longer-term economic challenges that Pakistan faced from the floods.
Entire villages and towns remain underwater. Conventional travel around Pakistan has been disrupted with roads washed away.
"It's very difficult because we have not been able to access all areas," said Irshad Shaikh, an expert on such crises with the World Health Organization. "To be frank, we do not yet have a countrywide picture" of the aid need.
On Thursday, flood alerts went out to several cities in Punjab and Sindh. The city of Muzaffargarh in southern Punjab Province looked like a ghost town after more than 80 percent of its population left because of flooding fears. Hundreds of residents moved to makeshift encampments along a road to the city of Multan.
One resident, Muhammad Farooq, said he chose to remain in Muzaffargarh to protect his house from theft while his family moved to Multan.
"We are helpless and praying to God that our city is saved, as the threat is still there from the River Chenab," he said.
About 400,000 people had been evacuated in Muzaffargarh and outlying areas, said Suhail Tipu, a government official coordinating the relief and rescue operation. Dozens of villages and towns in the area were flooded by waters from the Indus River, he said.
In Sindh Province, local officials braced for floodwaters threatening to inundate the city of Jacobabad on Thursday night, said Ghulam Ali Shah Pasha, chairman of Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Sindh. Another 300,000 people had to be evacuated from the Kashmore District in Sindh, he said.
"There are 450 relief camps across Sindh," Mr. Pasha said. "We are providing cooked meals. The biggest problem is that most of the people don't want to go to relief camps. They have tribal enmities and cultural sensitivities."
Across Pakistan, relief workers have made priorities of such needs such as food, water and shelter, while health workers focus on preventing diseases. The government and relief agencies are sending emergency tents, mosquito nets, food, water-purifying tablets and cholera prevention kits.
Dr. Shaikh of the World Health Organization said health risks included diarrhea and skin and respiratory infection, while immunization efforts have begun against measles and polio.
Although it is too early to determine how Pakistan's economy will be affected, early reports appear grim. Citing agricultural officials, Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday that about 500,000 tons of wheat had been destroyed by the floods. Additionally, as many as two million bales of cotton were lost, the newspaper reported.
At the request of Pakistan's government, the World Bank has joined with other agencies such as the Asian Development Bank to assess the damage to the country's economy, said Shahzad Sharjeel of the World Bank office in Islamabad.
The assessment period may take another week or two, Mr. Sharjeel said, adding that the World Bank already has provided $1.3 million in emergency grants.
Flooding began on July 22 in the province of Baluchistan. The swollen waters then poured across the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest before flowing south into Punjab and Sindh. The United Nations earlier this week appealed for $460 million in emergency aid. The appeal came after donors had already pledged an estimated $150 million.
As part of the stepped-up international effort, the United States said it would increase from six to 19 the number of military helicopters on loan to Pakistan to assist with flood relief.
"The magnitude of this crisis is unprecedented" in Pakistan, said Dr. Shaikh. Many people who depend on the land and animals for survival have their livelihoods simply washed away, he said.
After the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, relief workers had access to some resources.
"Here, everything is gone. Crops, livestock, homes, communities," Dr. Shaikh said. "There is nothing for people to fall back on."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/world/asia/13pstan.html?_r=1&ref=asia
KAR BURA HO BURA .
