Massive floods across Pakistan | Thousands Killed

[ice_man]

Zardari chartered a private G4 for his business trip to France and UK last week, Nawaz, he's abillionaire who pays no taxes

But there is a Shah e Mardan, a prince among men:

Musharraf donates Rs 10 million for flood affectees

ISLAMABAD: Former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf has donated Rs 10 million for the flood affectees, Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief coordinator and former federal minister said on Sunday. He made these remarks while addressing a press conference. Hussain said that both the federal and provincial governments had failed to provide any relief to the flood affectees. The APML chief coordinator said that millions of people were still waiting for relief goods from the higher authorities. He informed the media that Musharraf had announced the donation following the mass devastation caused by the floods. Hussain said that amount would be given in the form of cash and relief goods. staff report

A QUESTION THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME!!! HOW THE HELL DID AN ARMY MAN GET 10 MILLION RUPEES AND THAT TOO TO DONATE!!!


& i personally feel they don't need money they need goods!! money will be eaten up by the government

 

[GentlemanObserver]

Wow i hope all is well, also i know a charity in the UK is planning on shipping 1000 of these "Homes in a Box" kits to Pakistan over the coming days:

 

[fawwaxs]

Pakistani religious charities have been quick to step in to help after this month's devastating floods, winning hearts and minds as frustration with the US-backed government grows.

The worst floods in 80 years have killed more than 1,600 people and left two million homeless along a broad swathe of the Indus river basin, from the north of the country to the south.

The army was quick to respond with rescue efforts, saving many lives as the torrent struck. The government, overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, has been blasted as ineffective.

But as the authorities and international aid agencies marshal supplies and staff, it is often nimble Islamic charity workers who are first to arrive to help people pick up their lives as the worst of the surge begins to ebb.

They may not bring huge resources to bear but they establish a presence, with at least a canvas awning beside a road, with a banner appealing for donations and a table covered with bottles and jars of basic medicine.

“They were the first to come with tractors and vans to evacuate our people,” said Shafaatullah Khan who lives in a village near the Indus in Punjab province. “If they hadn't been many people would have died. They worked day and night to get people out and provide cooked food and water.”

Nearby, workers of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Islamic charity hovered around four huge pots, preparing food over a smoky fire while four women clad in burqas sat at a charity medical post.

The JuD is the charity arm of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.

The LeT was behind a bloody attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 shortly after which the JuD was put on a UN blacklist for links to terrorism.

But such connections mean nothing to most Pakistanis.

“Everyone has a good impression of them,” land owner Mohammad Ali Khan said of the religious charity workers.

“They do their part,” Khan said in the village of Isa Khel, as diesel pumps clattered nearby, trying to suck water out of a row of shops over a muddy road and into water-logged fields.

This is not the first time they have mounted a high-profile response to a natural disaster in Pakistan.

In 2005, they established a reputation as a tireless relief group by helping many thousands of survivors after an earthquake struck the north of the country, killing 73,000 people. They have also helped people displaced by fighting against militants.

Many flood victims criticise the authorities for what they see as their failure to bring help quickly.

The support the religious workers gain from their relief work could further undermine confidence in a government already under suspicion for its alliance with the United States in the global campaign against militancy.

Many Pakistanis are deeply suspicious of the United States, largely because of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which are seen as attacks on Islam.

But the JuD dismisses any suggestion it is trying to win over the population to the cause of Islam.

“We don't have any political agenda,” said JuD spokesman, Yahya Mujahid, who declined to comment on links to LeT.

A squat, burly man with a thick black beard flowing half-way down his chest, Mujahid said his group would contest elections if it wanted to get involved in politics.

“Our work is totally humanitarian,” he said, adding that it helped everyone, regardless of religion.

Another JuD official said a government crackdown on the group's finances had created problems but Mujahid said hostility towards his group bolstered its standing in the eyes of many: “The propaganda against us actually works in our favour.”

Villagers in the saturated flood plains along the Indus are simply thankful for whatever help they get.

“For us they're angels,” retired policeman Gul Mohammad Khan said of the relief workers.

“We don't care who they are or what their agenda is. We were in crisis and they were the first to help. That's it.” – Reuters

 

[fawwaxs]

 

[Patriot]

A QUESTION THAT REALLY BOTHERS ME!!! HOW THE HELL DID AN ARMY MAN GET 10 MILLION RUPEES AND THAT TOO TO DONATE!!!


& i personally feel they don't need money they need goods!! money will be eaten up by the government

Musharraf earns anywhere from 100,000$ to 200,000$ per lecture and he has given plenty of lectures..Probably earned couple million dollars from lectures.Now 100,000$=84 lakh so..I hope your doubts are clear now.

 

[AliFarooq]

 

[GentlemanObserver]

See, after all your prayers and strife for the Muslims in far away lands, what has all this gained you? nothing! Do they help you now?

NOPE! They don't help their own in Palestine, they would help you 2000 miles away? Get real Pakistan.

 

[Solomon2]

No help for flood victims in southern Pakistan

By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer Ashraf Khan, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 9, 3:18 am ET

SUKKUR, Pakistan – Although Manzoor Ahmed managed to escape rising floodwaters that submerged villages and destroyed homes in southern Pakistan, he said Monday that the total lack of government help meant dying may have been a better alternative.

The 25-year-old was one of thousands of people who fled their homes in Sindh province and railed against the government's anemic relief effort even though officials had time to prepare. Floodwaters first inundated Sindh several days ago, more than a week after devastating the northwest.

The complaints added to rising national anger directed at an already unpopular government that has deployed thousands of soldiers to save victims and deliver meals, but has been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster that has killed at least 1,500 and affected millions more.

That anger shows no sign of dissipating as heavy rains across Pakistan continue to raise water levels in the country's swollen rivers, displacing thousands of additional people every day.

"It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful," said Ahmed, who fled with his family from the town of Shikarpur and spent the night shivering in the rain that has continued to lash the country.

"It is very painful to see our people living without food and shelter," he said.

Thousands of people in the neighboring districts of Shikarpur and Sukkur camped out on roads, bridges and railway tracks — any dry ground they could find — often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and perhaps a plastic sheet to keep off the rain.

"I have no utensils. I have no food for my children. I have no money," said 40-year-old Hora Mai, sitting on a rain-soaked road in Sukkur along with hundreds of other people. "We were able to escape the floodwaters, but hunger may kill us."

A senior government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Dhareejo, said authorities were working to set up relief camps in the district and deliver food to flood victims.

But an Associated Press reporter who traveled widely through the worst-hit areas in Sindh over the past three days saw no sign of relief camps or government assistance.

The worst floods in Pakistan's history hit the country at a time when the government is already struggling with a faltering economy and a brutal war against Taliban militants that has killed thousands of people.

The U.S. and other international partners have stepped in to support the government by donating tens of millions of dollars and providing relief supplies and assistance.

But the U.N. special envoy for the disaster, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said Sunday that Pakistan will need billions of dollars more from international donors to recover from the floods, a daunting prospect at a time when the financial crisis has shrunk aid budgets in many countries.

A faltering relief effort could open the door to hard-line Islamist groups, which have already been delivering aid in the northwest — an area still trying to recover from an intense war between the army and the Taliban last spring.

The disaster could also have serious repercussions for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has come under withering criticism for going through with a planned trip to France and Britain despite the devastating floods at home.

 

[GentlemanObserver]

No help for flood victims in southern Pakistan

By ASHRAF KHAN, Associated Press Writer Ashraf Khan, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 9, 3:18 am ET

SUKKUR, Pakistan – Although Manzoor Ahmed managed to escape rising floodwaters that submerged villages and destroyed homes in southern Pakistan, he said Monday that the total lack of government help meant dying may have been a better alternative.

The 25-year-old was one of thousands of people who fled their homes in Sindh province and railed against the government's anemic relief effort even though officials had time to prepare. Floodwaters first inundated Sindh several days ago, more than a week after devastating the northwest.

The complaints added to rising national anger directed at an already unpopular government that has deployed thousands of soldiers to save victims and deliver meals, but has been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster that has killed at least 1,500 and affected millions more.

That anger shows no sign of dissipating as heavy rains across Pakistan continue to raise water levels in the country's swollen rivers, displacing thousands of additional people every day.

"It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful," said Ahmed, who fled with his family from the town of Shikarpur and spent the night shivering in the rain that has continued to lash the country.

"It is very painful to see our people living without food and shelter," he said.

Thousands of people in the neighboring districts of Shikarpur and Sukkur camped out on roads, bridges and railway tracks — any dry ground they could find — often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and perhaps a plastic sheet to keep off the rain.

"I have no utensils. I have no food for my children. I have no money," said 40-year-old Hora Mai, sitting on a rain-soaked road in Sukkur along with hundreds of other people. "We were able to escape the floodwaters, but hunger may kill us."

A senior government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Dhareejo, said authorities were working to set up relief camps in the district and deliver food to flood victims.

But an Associated Press reporter who traveled widely through the worst-hit areas in Sindh over the past three days saw no sign of relief camps or government assistance.

The worst floods in Pakistan's history hit the country at a time when the government is already struggling with a faltering economy and a brutal war against Taliban militants that has killed thousands of people.

The U.S. and other international partners have stepped in to support the government by donating tens of millions of dollars and providing relief supplies and assistance.

But the U.N. special envoy for the disaster, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said Sunday that Pakistan will need billions of dollars more from international donors to recover from the floods, a daunting prospect at a time when the financial crisis has shrunk aid budgets in many countries.

A faltering relief effort could open the door to hard-line Islamist groups, which have already been delivering aid in the northwest — an area still trying to recover from an intense war between the army and the Taliban last spring.

The disaster could also have serious repercussions for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has come under withering criticism for going through with a planned trip to France and Britain despite the devastating floods at home.

What nonsense, here is the official word from the UN:

At national-level humanitarian a humanitarian coordination centre is being established by OCHA in Islamabad. In addition, field assessment and coordination capacities have been reinforced in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

Source: ReliefWeb » Document » Pakistan: Monsoon Floods Situation Report # 9, 08 August 2010

According to the NDMA here are the number of supplies that reached Sindh as of 8th/8/2010:

Tents: 6,924
Sleeping mats: 17,000
Blankets:2,090
Genny Sets: 10
Ration packs (not MRE): 20,000
Water Removal Pumps:20
Mosquito nets:1,500
Jerry Cans: 1,500
Medical teams: 2
Helicopters:8
Boats:165

Persons Rescued: 1,04,001

Source: NDMA Pakistan

---
Yeah... Journalism fact finding at its best... Another bash the army and government article. Nothing to see here folks, move along!

 

[fawwaxs]

Pakistan flood crisis bigger than tsunami, Haiti: UN

ISLAMABAD: The number of people suffering from the massive floods in Pakistan could exceed the combined total in three recent megadisasters - the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake - the United Nations said Monday.

The death toll in each of those three disasters was much higher than the 1,500 people killed so far in the floods that first hit Pakistan two weeks ago. But the Pakistani government estimates that over 13 million people have been affected - two million more than the other disasters combined.

The comparison helps frame the scale of the crisis, which has overwhelmed the Pakistani government and has generated widespread anger from flood victims who have complained that aid is not reaching them quickly enough or at all.

''It looks like the number of people affected in this crisis is higher than the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami or the Pakistan earthquake, and if the toll is as high as the one given by the government, it's higher than the three of them combined,'' Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Associated Press.

The UN has provided a lower number of people who have been affected in Pakistan, about 6 million, but Giuliano said his organization does not dispute the government's figure. The UN number does not include the southern province of Sindh, which has been hit by floods in recent days, and the two sides have slightly different definitions of what it means to be affected.

The total number of people affected in the three other large disasters that have hit in recent years is about 11 million - 5 million in the tsunami and 3 million in each of the earthquakes - said Giuliano.

Many of the people affected by the floods, which were caused by extremely heavy monsoon rains, were located in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Rescue workers have been unable to reach up to 600,000 people marooned in the province's Swat Valley, where many residents were still trying to recover from an intense battle between the army and the Taliban last spring, said Giuliano. Bad weather has prevented helicopters from flying to the area, which is inaccessible by ground, he said.

''All these people are in very serious need of assistance, and we are highly concerned about their situation,'' said Giuliano.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also had to flee rising floodwaters in recent days in the central and southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh as heavy rains have continued to pound parts of the country.

One affected resident, Manzoor Ahmed, said Monday that although he managed to escape floods that submerged villages and destroyed homes in Sindh, the total lack of government help meant dying may have been a better alternative.

''It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful,'' said Ahmed, who fled with his family from the town of Shikarpur and spent the night shivering in the rain that has continued to lash the country.

''It is very painful to see our people living without food and shelter,'' he said.

Thousands of people in the neighboring districts of Shikarpur and Sukkur camped out on roads, bridges and railway tracks - any dry ground they could find - often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and perhaps a plastic sheet to keep off the rain.

''I have no utensils. I have no food for my children. I have no money,'' said Hora Mai, 40, sitting on a rain-soaked road in Sukkur along with hundreds of other people. ''We were able to escape the floodwaters, but hunger may kill us.''

A senior government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Dhareejo, said authorities were working to set up relief camps in the district and deliver food to flood victims.

But an Associated Press reporter who traveled widely through the worst-hit areas in Sindh over the past three days saw no sign of relief camps or government assistance.

The worst floods in Pakistan's history hit the country at a time when the government is already struggling with a faltering economy and a brutal war against Taliban militants that has killed thousands of people.

The US and other international partners have stepped in to support the government by donating tens of millions of dollars and providing relief supplies and assistance.

But the UN special envoy for the disaster, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said Sunday that Pakistan will need billions of dollars more from international donors to recover from the floods, a daunting prospect at a time when the financial crisis has shrunk aid budgets in many countries. – AP

 

[Spring Onion]

Pakistan needs billions to recover: UN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from its worst floods in history, the United Nations said on Sunday.

The government has struggled to cope with the scale of the disaster, which has killed at least 1,500 people, prompting the international community to help by donating tens of millions of dollars and providing relief supplies.

But the UN special envoy for the disaster, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said the need for foreign aid would be much greater going forward and could be difficult to procure given the ongoing financial crisis around the world.

The UN is still calculating specific figures, but Mr Ripert said in an interview with The Associated Press that “the emergency phase will require hundreds of millions of dollars and the recovery and reconstruction part will require billions of dollars”.

Much of that money will be needed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the site of the worst damage from floods that first hit two weeks ago after extremely heavy monsoon rains. But as the floodwaters rushed south, it also brought death and destruction to the provinces of Punjab and Sindh.

Late on Sunday, a magnitude-3.8 earthquake jolted Sindh, but no damage was reported, said Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry, the country’s top meteorological official.

At least 1.4 million acres of crops were destroyed in Punjab, said the UN. Many more crops were devastated in the northwest.

“The flooding has caused massive damage to crops and also to the reserve that people had at their houses,” said Amjad Jamal, spokesman for the World Food Programme, which has provided food to more than 265,000 people in the northwest.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a food insecure province even before the floods, and a lot of areas are such that people can’t afford even one meal a day,” said Mr Jamal.

Masood Haider adds from New York:



The floods have affected over six million people, according to the latest UN estimates and the estimate of the funds needed to meet requirements of the victims could be revised upwards of $300 million, UN officials said. A UN spokesperson told Dawn on Sunday the numbers could be much higher than earlier speculated and that the situation in all parts of Pakistan was very fluid.

Till Saturday the estimate was just over four million. “Things will probably get worse, before they start getting better,” said Martin Mogwanja, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan. “We are working at full speed to respond to the most urgent needs of the affected populations”.

 

[Patriot]

Unfortunately the international donors are not donating much like they donated in 2005 earthquake and this is bigger then 2005 earthquake.

 

[fawwaxs]

Authorities ordered the evacuation of Muzaffargarh as flood water entered the city after cracks appeared in Muzaffargarh Canal.

Meanwhile, DG Khan’s road link with Punjab has also been severed. An estimated 40,000 residents are facing increasing difficulties in moving out of the area.

The Muzaffargarh Dike has also collapsed and the water is gradually moving towards Chowk Qureshi and Ada Baseer. The Safety line Teleri canal has been broken from Jaffarabad to allow water to drain out.

Evacuation of residents from the area has started however people are facing problems due to the lack of public transport.

A Special train has begun its services to evacuate people displaced by the floods.

Flood to pass through Rahim Yar Khan

Meanwhile, flood torrent in river Sindh has reached Guddu road near Kashmore after completely inundating the city of Bhong near Rahim Yar Khan.

The Rahim Yar Khan administration directed people living in Kot Sabzal, Machka, Kamu, Rahimabad and about 200 villages on the Sindh-Punjab border to evacuate.

Within 36 hours, over 150,000 people had shifted to safer and dry areas, while locals are trying to repair the embankment of Maluk Wali near Jamaldin Wali after it broke early morning.

Sources in the canal department said a 300,000 cusec flood torrent passing from Muzaffargarh will reach Rahim Yar Khan on August 11.

Situation in Sindh

Flood level at Sukkur Barrage decreased as 10 gates were opened to increase the outflow of water, while authorities also ordered to demolish the safety wall and encroachments around the barrage.

High flood was recorded in River Indus near Guddu and Sukkur areas. Water inflow at Guddu Barrage stands at approximately 1.49 million cusecs and outflow at 1.48 million cusecs.

Water inflow and outflow at Sukkur Barrage stands at 1.13 million cusecs.

Five breaches occurred in Begari Canal near Abad area of Jacobabad, causing the adjoining areas to submerge.

Rising levels in Kotri

Water level is increasing in Kotri Barrage and people living in the danger-zones of River Indus have started migrating to safer locations after the administration declared red alert the Kotri and Kacha areas.

On the other hand, the water level is increasing on the dykes of Hussainabad and Latifabad near Hyderabad.

Train service in the areas has also been badly affected by floods in Sindh.

Difficult recovery in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

High-level floods persist in the rivers of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa following intermittent showers.

Excessive water has bloated the rainy streams as torrential rains continue in the mountainous areas of Swat.

Boat service and aid delivery has also been suspended due to the high level of flood in river Swat, whiel high floods have also been reported in the rivers of Charsadda and Nowshera areas.

Flood affectees are still waiting for government’s assistance amid heavy downpour. However, NGOs are providing as much relief as they can in the shape of tents, food, medicine and other essential items to the affected people.

Skardu Landslide

Forty bodies have so far been pulled from the rubble after major landslides and flooding hit areas of Skardu and District Ghanchay. The search for sixteen others is still underway.

Flood ******** of 296,000 cusecs have been recorded in River Indus near the area of Kachora, while rains have affected more than 60 kilometres of roads and 25 bridges in Baltistan region.

Around 120 houses have been completely destroyed while hundreds of houses were partially damaged.

Skardu’s road link with other areas has been disconnected for the last 15 days resulting in a food shortage in the area. Thousands are confined to their homes as a shortage of petroleum products has affected traffic on roads.

Flooding in Balochistan

Floods wreaked havoc in Balochistan by submerging many villages in the Loralai district including Loni and Suhbatpur areas.

Suhbatpur area came under threat after a safety dike burst, while several other villages were inundated and hundreds of people are still trapped in Sadozai, Sharqi Loni, Ghabi Loni, Wahvi Loni and Laki Loni areas.

Meanwhile, a mass exodus has been reported from Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Thal areas of Sindh province towards Jaffarabad under the imminent flood threat.

Rescue teams from the army, frontier corps and the police are evacuating flood victims and moving them to safer locations.

 

[fawwaxs]

Bakhtawar arrives to help flood victims

KARACHI: Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, an international observer and the daughter of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has come to Pakistan only to ensure provision of relief aid to the people of flood-hit areas in Pakistan.

This was informed by PPP Women Wing Sindh’s Information Secretary and Advisor to Chief Minister Sindh Sharmila Farooqui in a statement issued here on Sunday.

Some meetings of PPP Women Wing attended by Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari in the country were only aimed at providing all possible help to the flood affectees across the country Farooqui said.

She informed the media that Bakhtawar has said that PPP Women Wing under the leadership of Faryal Talpur is serving people, including women and children in a better way.

“Bakhtawar has also asked PPP Women Wing leaders to visit flood-hit areas across the country regularly and ensure all possible help to them for their rehabilitation,” the advisor further informed.

Bakhtawar said,” a large number of women and children are affected by floods in the country, so joint efforts should be made to rehabilitate them with immediate effect.”

---------- Post added at 12:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 PM ----------
The Aftermath of “Shoe Therapy

 

[ice_man]

Pakistan flood crisis bigger than tsunami, Haiti: UN

ISLAMABAD: The number of people suffering from the massive floods in Pakistan could exceed the combined total in three recent megadisasters - the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake - the United Nations said Monday.

The death toll in each of those three disasters was much higher than the 1,500 people killed so far in the floods that first hit Pakistan two weeks ago. But the Pakistani government estimates that over 13 million people have been affected - two million more than the other disasters combined.

The comparison helps frame the scale of the crisis, which has overwhelmed the Pakistani government and has generated widespread anger from flood victims who have complained that aid is not reaching them quickly enough or at all.

''It looks like the number of people affected in this crisis is higher than the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami or the Pakistan earthquake, and if the toll is as high as the one given by the government, it's higher than the three of them combined,'' Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Associated Press.

The UN has provided a lower number of people who have been affected in Pakistan, about 6 million, but Giuliano said his organization does not dispute the government's figure. The UN number does not include the southern province of Sindh, which has been hit by floods in recent days, and the two sides have slightly different definitions of what it means to be affected.

The total number of people affected in the three other large disasters that have hit in recent years is about 11 million - 5 million in the tsunami and 3 million in each of the earthquakes - said Giuliano.

Many of the people affected by the floods, which were caused by extremely heavy monsoon rains, were located in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Rescue workers have been unable to reach up to 600,000 people marooned in the province's Swat Valley, where many residents were still trying to recover from an intense battle between the army and the Taliban last spring, said Giuliano. Bad weather has prevented helicopters from flying to the area, which is inaccessible by ground, he said.

''All these people are in very serious need of assistance, and we are highly concerned about their situation,'' said Giuliano.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also had to flee rising floodwaters in recent days in the central and southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh as heavy rains have continued to pound parts of the country.

One affected resident, Manzoor Ahmed, said Monday that although he managed to escape floods that submerged villages and destroyed homes in Sindh, the total lack of government help meant dying may have been a better alternative.

''It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful,'' said Ahmed, who fled with his family from the town of Shikarpur and spent the night shivering in the rain that has continued to lash the country.

''It is very painful to see our people living without food and shelter,'' he said.

Thousands of people in the neighboring districts of Shikarpur and Sukkur camped out on roads, bridges and railway tracks - any dry ground they could find - often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and perhaps a plastic sheet to keep off the rain.

''I have no utensils. I have no food for my children. I have no money,'' said Hora Mai, 40, sitting on a rain-soaked road in Sukkur along with hundreds of other people. ''We were able to escape the floodwaters, but hunger may kill us.''

A senior government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Dhareejo, said authorities were working to set up relief camps in the district and deliver food to flood victims.

But an Associated Press reporter who traveled widely through the worst-hit areas in Sindh over the past three days saw no sign of relief camps or government assistance.

The worst floods in Pakistan's history hit the country at a time when the government is already struggling with a faltering economy and a brutal war against Taliban militants that has killed thousands of people.

The US and other international partners have stepped in to support the government by donating tens of millions of dollars and providing relief supplies and assistance.

But the UN special envoy for the disaster, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said Sunday that Pakistan will need billions of dollars more from international donors to recover from the floods, a daunting prospect at a time when the financial crisis has shrunk aid budgets in many countries. – AP

PEOPLE are not as enthusiastic as they were in 2005!!!! sad state of affairs this time round from our nation!! zameer maar gaya hai pakistanioun kaa!