Pakistan flood death toll rises

02/07/2007| IslamWeb

Over 100 people have now died in floods after a cyclone and rain swept through Pakistan, relief officials have said.

The storm and floods have affected two million people in 15 districts of Balochistan province, officials said.

Poor communications and the remoteness of some affected areas means the true death toll since Cyclone Yemyin hit on Tuesday remains unknown.

Many people have been without drinking water or electricity for days. More rains are forecast in the area.

Storms and floods have also affected other parts of South Asia, with at least 140 people killed over the past week in India.

And in flooded parts of Afghanistan, more than 80 people have died in recent days.

Relief challenge

Flash floods in Balochistan have hampered attempts to bring aid to people hit by storms.

"Relief goods are pouring in, but it is a challenge to distribute it in the vast affected area where communication and transportation lines have broken down," Raziq Bugti, spokesman for the Balochistan government told the Associated Press news agency.

Another relief official said more tents were needed to provide shelter for people who have been left homeless by the floods.

Relief commissioner Ali Gul Kurd said hundreds of villages had been inundated, with 90% of crops, cattle and houses destroyed in some areas.

Four people have died in overnight rains in Sindh province, and in one district alone, 30 villages have been inundated with flood waters.

Last month, more than 200 people were killed in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, by floods and high winds.

PHOTO CAPTION

Flood devastation in Turbat district