Death toll tops 1,300 in Pakistani flooding (Taliban start financial bidding war versus US aid)

[Turborama]

Source: CNN International

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The death toll climbed to more than 1,300 in Pakistan on Wednesday as the nation's military and emergency services struggled to cope with the flood waters that have washed across the landscape. The Pakistan Disaster Authority has confirmed 1,313 deaths, although officials say the number could reach 1,500. The authority also said 1,588 people have been injured and 352,291 people have been rescued. More than 722,000 houses have been damaged.

The flooding, which has affected some 14 million people, started in the northwest and has threatened places as far south as the port city of Karachi. For many parts of southern Pakistan, the worst is yet to come. The "Indus River at Kotri in Southern Sindh Province is likely to attain a very high to exceptionally high flood level," according to the Pakistani Meteorological Department. "Under this scenario, the inundation and flooding of low lying areas of district of Hyderabad, Thatta and adjoining areas in South Sindh."

=snip=

U.S. emergency relief teams continued to arrive in Peshawar to help, the U.S. State Department said. The U.S. Agency for International Development has committed $55 million in aid to international organizations and nongovernmental organizations, it said. The United States has provided more than 435,000 meals. This assistance is in addition to U.S. military efforts, which include rescue airlifts, food supplies and other deliveries provided by the Pentagon.

Of the total, $20 million will be used to expand humanitarian operations farther south as the flood zone expands, Mark Ward, acting director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, told reporters Tuesday.

Islamic militants, however, called on the Pakistani government to reject any aid provided by the United States for flood relief. "For the sake of God, don't accept donations from the U.S. because they are our enemies," said Azem Tariq, spokesman for Pakistan Taliban. "Whatever amount the U.S. will give as donation, we will give the government of Pakistan more."

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/11/pakistan.floods/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn#fbid=5tFS21of5oJ&wom=false

---

Several related videos at the above link.


Related article: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4498952">As Pakistanis flee flood zone, officials decry lack of international aid (Pic Heavy)

[OhioChick]

1. And only to worsen, I'm sure.

Thanks for posting. K&R

[cosmicone]

2. 1300 is a far cry from 250,000+ that died in the Asian tsunami...

yet Pakistanis (government, not people for the dense/obtuse) were spinning it as worse than the tsunami.

Any death is regrettable but all my Pakistani friends have come on line and sent me emails as normal. Most of the damage is in low-lying farmland with urban and industrial centers mostly intact and it will have an impact in the future on farming in the short term -- so Pakistan will definitely need building materials and food as aid.

In the long run, the farmland is made more fertile by all the sediment that settles.

However, it is good news that the disaster is limited and not as great as the tsunami or the Chinese/Haitian earthquakes.

[Turborama]

3. Stop!

U.N. officials say that the floods have affected more people than the combined total from the Kashmir earthquake, the Haitian earthquake and the 2004 Asian tsunami. But unlike those crises, in which the scale of damage was almost immediately apparent, this one has unfolded gradually, and Pakistanis say they worry the world has not yet taken notice.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4498952


And instead of your continuous use of the snarky "Pakistanis (government, not people for the dense/obtuse)", why don't you just say "Pakistan's government", if that's what you really mean?

[OhioChick]

4. +1 n/t

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cosmicone]

6. Stats

Haitian Earthquake - 230,000 dead, 80,000 missing, 1.9 million rendered homeless

Kashmir Quake - 152,000 dead, 7,300 missing, 400,000 rendered homeless

Asian Tsunami - 261,000 dead, 52,000 missing, 2.6 million rendered homeless

Pakistan Floods - 1,800 dead, 7,600 missing, 960,000 rendered homeless.