Flood-hit Pakistan to evacuate 500,000 in south
Pakistani authorities began evacuating half a million people living along the swollen Indus River in the country's south yesterday, as floods caused by the worst monsoon rains in decades threatened new destruction.
The floods have already killed an estimated 1,500 people over the past week, most of them in the northwest, the centre of Pakistan's fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. An estimated 4.2 million Pakistanis have been affected, including many in eastern Punjab province, which has seen numerous villages swallowed by rising water in recent days.
The UN says four million people have now been affected by the country's worst floods in nearly a century.
Ongoing monsoon rains and the swollen Indus river have caused thousands more to flee homes in its most populous province, Punjab.
In neighbouring Sindh province 350,000 people have been moved, officials say.
As fresh rains fell Thursday, bloated rivers gushed toward southern Sindh province, where hundreds of thousands of the most impoverished Pakistanis live along the water because of its fertility and because it is cheaper than safer ground.
ABSENT PRESIDENT
In some affected areas, there were protests at the government's perceived inaction. The Pakistan army has defended its rescue operation.
The government's overall response has been faulted, especially because Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari left for a visit to Europe as the crises piled up.
President Zardari is pressing ahead with his schedule of diplomatic visits to European nations, despite demands for him to return to home.
The United Nations estimates 980,000 people have lost their homes in floodwaters or have been forced to flee, while the UN World Food Programme said some 1.8m needed food aid.
The UK government is sending 2,000 all-weather tents to affected districts in Pakistan, Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell has said.
AID APPEAL LAUNCHED BY TV
British charities are launching a radio and TV campaign to raise funds for victims of the devastating floods in north-western Pakistan.
An appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) - an umbrella organisation of 13 UK humanitarian aid agencies - will be broadcast later.
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