Pakistan flood victims flee city of Thatta after another levee breach — 175,000 people leave homes overnight

By Mark Tran and agencies, www.guardian.co.uk
Friday 27 August 2010 15.58 BST Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis have fled the historic southern city of Thatta in Sindh province after the swollen Indus river broke a levee and flooded new areas. Around 175,000 people, about 70% of the city’s population, were believed to have fled their homes overnight, said Manzoor Sheikh, a senior government official. Authorities were trying to repair the broken levee 78 miles south-east of the major port city of Karachi and arranging transport for people trying to leave. “The situation is getting worse,” said local disaster official Hadi Baksh Kalhoro. “The water is flowing into a nearby canal endangering Thatta city.” A second breach occurred in the Soorjani levee in the same region, said Gulab Shah, who was helping relief efforts. “It is beyond control now. Thousands of people are sitting with their cattle and belongings and their lives are in danger. They are not willing to leave.” A UN spokesman, Maurizio Giuliano, said around 1 million people have been displaced in Thatta and Qambar-Shadadkot districts since Wednesday. The situation in Sindh “is getting from bad to worse”, Giuliano said. “We are delivering (aid) faster and faster, but the floods seem determined to outrun our response.” … An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of people sheltering in the Makli Hill burial ground, one of the largest such sites in the world. The graveyard, which is not believed to be in danger, houses the ornate tombs of hundreds of Muslim holy men dating from the 14th century. …

Pakistan flood victims flee Thatta after another levee is breached via Apocadocs