Islamabad – Pakistan’s government has warned about 500 000 people in the country’s southeastern Sindh province that they should evacuate immediately because of possible flooding, government officials said.
Residents of three major towns – Sujawal, Mirpur Bathoro and Daro – and their surrounding villages have been urged to evacuate as soon as they can to avoid possible flooding.
The warning was issued after a breach in one of the embankments caused by rising water levels in the Indus River, said Ali Gul Sanjrani, a senior government official in Thatha district.
Adding to the problem: a forecast of rain for all of Pakistan’s four provinces over the next 24 hours. Thousands remain at risk in the flood-ravaged nation.
Sirens blared from mosques in Indus River delta cities and towns like Shahdadkot where remaining berms and levees holding back water were about to burst.
Flood waters have started to recede across Pakistan, but in the Indus delta, the potential for more flooding remained high, especially given high tides in the Arabian Sea, where the Indus spills out.
Already, 17 million Pakistanis – from the Chinese border in the north to the mouth of the Indus in the south – have been affected by the monsoon floods that began a month ago.
Many refugees have sought shelter at relief camps, where food and drinking water are now available. But every day there are new camp arrivals – people who were already poor, who now have nothing.
The damage from Pakistan’s worst humanitarian catastrophe is sure to hurtle the impoverished nation back in terms of development. This week, America’s top aid official saw firsthand the dire needs in Pakistan.
Dr Rajiv Shah, administrator for the United States Agency for International Development, said he was deeply moved by his visit to Sukkur and that aid agencies were “scaling up their response efforts as quickly as they possibly can”.
Shah announced the United States would be diverting another US$50 million for flood relief from the Kerry-Lugar act, which allocated US$7.5 billion in nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan over five years. (CNN)
