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Floods surge into Pakistan's Sindh province; 3 lakh evacuated

The number of people affected by floods across the country today rose to an estimated 4.5 million, officials at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Islamabad said.

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Pakistan's worst floods in 80 years surged into the southern Sindh province today amidst criticism over failing to provide speedy relief to the 4.5 million people affected by the deluge, even as about 300,000 have been evacuated along the swollen Indus river.

After causing widespread devastation in the north western and central parts of Pakistan, the floods entered Sindh. Officials said a flow of 780,000 cusecs of water had been recorded at the Guddu Barrage and the level is expected to rise to 900,000 cusecs soon.

Flood waters also entered Ghotki and Kashmore districts in Sindh and were rising, officials said.

Army and navy units are already on high alert in these areas to carry out rescue and relief operations and over 300,000 people have been evacuated from areas near the Indus river basin.

The number of people affected by floods across the country today rose to an estimated 4.5 million, officials at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Islamabad said.

Over 1,500 people have been killed by the floods, which also washed away livestock and inundated thousands of acres of crops.

The floods in Punjab and Sindh were slightly exacerbated by continuing monsoon rains. Though floods abated in Mianwanli, Bhakkar and Layyah districts, conditions were worse in Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh districts, said Punjab relief commissioner Ikhlaq Ahmad Tarar.

"Around 90 people have died due to the rains and floods. Some 1.4 million people have been displaced in Punjab," Tarar said. A total of 1.42 million acres of crops and nearly 1,350 villages have been destroyed in flood-affected areas of Punjab.

The embankment of a canal broke at Mithan Kot and flood waters entered the city. The evacuation of people had begun and the administration had directed the residents of low-lying areas to move to safer places.

Authorities had also issued a warning at Chachara Sharif in Rajanpur as there was a heavy pressure of water at an embankment, Tarar said.

In the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has borne the brunt of Pakistan's worst floods since 1929, the level of most rivers began receding today, giving a fillip to relief activities.

A spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said that the level of all rivers except the Kabul river and the Indus river was normal.

A Saudi government plane carrying quilts, blankets and other relief materials landed at Peshawar airport and Saudi authorities pledged more aid would be sent in the days to come.

Though authorities stepped up efforts to get food, water and relief to the flood-hit areas in the northwest, victims complained that the government had done little to address their woes in the aftermath of the unprecedented monsoon rains and floods.

Rescue workers returning from the northwest said many roads and bridges had been washed away, affecting efforts to get relief to victims. Hundreds of dead animals, including cattle, were yet to be removed and the carcasses had begun rotting.

The UN World Food Programme said that 80% of the food reserves had been destroyed and 1.8 million people were in urgent need of food in the northwest. Other aid organisations said many communities were drinking contaminated water, making them vulnerable to diseases like diarrhoea.

Though flood waters receded in Punjab, many displaced people continued to live in the open as the government had not set up adequate relief camps.

The gaps in the government's relief delivery systems were filled in by hundreds of workers of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, who have fanned out in flood-hit areas to provide cooked meals and medical aid. The JuD, banned by the UN Security Council for being a front for the Lashker-e-Taiba, is operating the banner of the Falah-e-Insaniyat in the flood affected areas.

There was also criticism of the unpopular president Asif Ali Zardari for going ahead with his visit to Britain despite calls from political leaders, including the main opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, to return to Pakistan to lead the flood relief efforts.

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