Desperation grows over Pakistan flood damage

By WAQAR GILLANI
Published: August 17, 2010 LAHORE, Pakistan — With disastrous flooding spreading yet more widely in Pakistan, reports of looting and protests over food on Tuesday deepened the sense of desperation across Punjab Province, the country’s most populous region and its agricultural hub. Flood survivors told stories of taking the search for aid upon themselves, swimming to dry areas to find food for people still marooned and waiting for rescue. As many as 8.5 million people in Punjab have been affected, and property damage is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, told reporters. Punjab’s provincial cabinet met Tuesday and ordered development funds to be used for emergency aid. The floods have caused lasting damage to roads and other infrastructure, livestock and agriculture. On Tuesday, the World Bank pledged to reroute $900 million from other projects in Pakistan to help in recovery and reconstruction efforts. Across southern Punjab, scenes repeatedly played out of people seeking food and aid on their own as they remained isolated by floodwaters that reached as high as five feet. “Water is still on the rise, and we are in a helpless situation,” said Muhammad Usman, a district administrator. One resident, Abdul Ghafoor, described how he and a group of 50 people survived while they were stranded on the roof of a concrete house in Muzaffargarh. Each day, he said, one person would set out, floating on tires and rubber tubes, to seek food and water for the group. “We have been calling army and government people, but nobody listens to us,” he said. “Our children are dying of hunger.” …

Desperation Grows Over Pakistan Flood Damage