Podcast

Tens of thousands trapped by Pakistan floods

Updated: 2010-08-02 10:56

 

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Rescue workers struggled on Sunday to save more than 27,000 people still trapped by massive flooding in Pakistan's northwest. Officials say the flooding has killed more than 1,400 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

The effort has been aided by a slackening of the monsoon rains that have caused the worst flooding in decades in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province. But as flood waters have started to recede, authorities have begun to understand the full scale of the disaster.

"Aerial monitoring is being conducted, and it has shown that whole villages have washed away, animals have drowned and grain storages have washed away," said Latifur Rehman, spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

The worst hit areas include the district of Swat. The disaster comes as the residents of Swat are still trying to recover from a major battle between the army and the Taliban last spring that caused widespread destruction and drove some 2 million people from their homes.

Authorities have deployed 43 military helicopters and over 100 boats to try to rescue some 27,300 people still trapped by the floods in Pakistan.

A variety of nations and aid organizations have begun to mobilize a response to the flood disaster. The Chinese government on Monday offered to provide emergency humanitarian aid worth $1.5 million to flood-stricken areas in Pakistan.

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.