Worst Floods In Pakistan Since 1929

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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: As the death toll climbed above 800 yesterday, survivors affected by the worst flooding Pakistan has seen since 1929 lashed out at the lack of response from the government, accusing it of ignoring their plight.

“We have seen people drowning at close distance. But no one could help anyone. Everyone feared for his own life,” a resident of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtoonkwa province angrily told local television.

Sher Jan, a resident of Akora Khattak, said around 300 people are stranded in his village. “Everything has been destroyed. The government should provide us with food and shelter. We do not have any food left.”

The provincial information minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, while speaking yesterday to local media in Peshawar, one of the hardest his areas, along with Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Nowshera, Hangu, Kohat, Manshera and Battagram, defended the rescue effort, saying 3,789 people had been rescued by relief workers and army officials. Government estimates put the number of people still trapped by the floods at 26,758.

“Government had taken pre-emptive measures and intimated people of affected area to shift to safer places, but the emergency call was not ... properly heeded by people,” Mr Hussain said, adding that the floods have badly affected the communication network of the province.

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