Pakistan flood waters start to recede
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 | 5:19 AM ET
The Associated Press
Pakistani flood survivors migrate to safer areas in the historic city of Baseera near Multan, Pakistan, on Monday. (Khalid Tanveer/Associated Press) Flood waters that have devastated Pakistan for five weeks headed to the Arabian Sea on Tuesday after swallowing two final towns, but the challenges of delivering emergency aid to some eight million people remained.
The floods have moved down from the mountainous northwest, submerging or affecting large swaths of the country at their peak.
Waters have begun to recede in the north and in Punjab, but they have been submerging towns in southern Sindh province close to the Indus River over the last 10 days.
Government official Hadi Bakhsh said the last two towns in the path of the floods were hit late Monday.
"The flood waters hit Khahre Jamali and Jati towns last night, and now there is no other village or town in the way of the deluge," he said, adding that people had already fled the towns, parts of which were under three metres of water.
"The flood waters are now heading to the Arabian Sea."
Authorities have struggled to feed, house and arrange medical care for the survivors of the floods. Foreign countries and the United Nations were slow to respond to the disaster, in part because it took a long time for its extent to become clear.
Aid is slowly reaching the worst-affected areas by army helicopter, road and boat, but millions have received little or no help. The United Nations warned that additional funding for emergency food was urgently needed to ensure supplies into next month.
Once all the flood waters recede, the country will be left with a massive relief and reconstruction effort that will cost billions of dollars and take years. An estimated one million homes have been damaged or destroyed, five times as many as were hit by this year's earthquake in Haiti.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Tories move to curb 'bogus' refugees
- The Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, CBC News has learned. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Two NDP MPs broke party ranks to vote with the government in the final House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Syria's Assad calls for vote but steps up assault
- As Syrian forces stepped up their assault on rebellious cities, President Bashar al-Assad ordered a referendum on a new constitution that would create a multiparty system in a country that has been ruled by his autocratic family dynasty for 40 years. more »
- Malnutrition kills 2 million kids a year
- Five children around the world die every minute because of chronic malnutrition, according to a new report. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- Canadian businessman convicted of rape in U.S.
- An Algerian-born Canadian businessman has been convicted of raping a woman in a luxury hotel room in New York after meeting her out on the town in January 2010. more »
Dispatches »
- Syrian refugees' defiance and division Feb. 14, 2012 4:48 PM With the deadly game in Syria changing almost daily, CBC's Derek Stoffel in Turkey met militant refugees who reflect the division in the rebel forces about whether to go it alone or wait for the international community to back them against the current regime.
Connect Newsroom Blog
Toews vs. Twitter, Helping Syria & Misuse of Prescription Drugs Feb. 15, 2012 7:53 PM As violence continues in Syria, we're asking what should the world do about Syria?
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- Barefoot girl's icy trek not blamed on babysitter
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Canadian housing market cools in January

