More rain, misery for Pakistan

NF Reporter · 08-12-2010, 10:42 AM

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NEW: President Asif Ali Zardari criticized for being away from Pakistan NEW: Public officials fear a second wave of deaths from contaminated water The death toll now tops 1,343, Pakistani authorities say Cost to restore agriculture sector may be in the billions The U.N. launches a flash appeal for ...
New Flood Warnings Raise Fears in Pakistan - New York Times
CNNPakistanis Begin Ramadan With Misery Of Floods - CNN
Pakistan begins Ramadan amid misery - CNN
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More rain, misery for Pakistan

waltky · 08-14-2010, 07:57 PM

But clean drinking water is in short supply...

Lack of clean water a threat in Pakistan
Aug. 14,`10 (UPI) -- An outbreak of waterborne diseases in flood-ravaged Pakistan could lead to more deaths and challenge relief activities, authorities say.

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U.N. spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said a lack of clean drinking water for flood victims is raising concerns amid reports of rising cases of acute diarrhea, malaria and skin diseases, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Around 36,000 cases of diarrhea have been reported across the flood affected areas as communities remain cut off and people have only contaminated water to drink for their survival, Giuliano said. "We need to arrange for clean drinking water on an emergency basis, otherwise we will have a second wave of deaths," he said.

The death toll in the floods that started two weeks ago in the northwest of the country stands at more than 1,500, authorities said. Caused by unprecedented monsoon rains, the floods have affected 13 million people in an area covering about one third of Pakistan.

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And they wonder why relief donations are slow in coming around this time...

Zardari government accused of diverting 300 million pound Kashmir earthquake aid
Saturday 14th August, 2010 - Pakistani officials have alleged that over 300 million pounds in foreign aid for victims of the October 8, 2005 Kashmir earthquake have been diverted by President Asif Ali Zardari's government to other causes.

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They now fear that the diversion of funds will deter donors from giving further aid after the country's devastating floods. Pakistan had received 3.5 billion pounds to rebuild vast swathes of the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province after the earthquake destroyed the region's infrastructure. However, officials said that over 300 million pounds are yet to be handed over to the country's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).

According to officials, schools, hospitals, houses and roads planned with the money remain unbuilt almost five years after the earthquake, The Telegraph reports. The earthquake had registered a magnitude of 7.6, and the devastation had claimed the lives of over 79,000 people and injured over 1,06,000. In Balakot, where 5,000 of the town's 25,000 people were killed in the earthquake, thousands of families were told that their entire town would be rebuilt 10 kilometres away, as the town stood directly in a 'red zone' directly above the fault line, the paper reports.

However, the promises are yet to be fulfilled, as not a single new road has been completed nor a building construction begun on the site of "New Balakot", it added. Earlier in March 2009, the ERRA officials were told that their budgets were being cut, as money had to be diverted to other government projects. "When we have the money we will pay you," the paper quoted a senior official, as saying. "All the money was given by Western governments, but they said 'we have so many ther problems'," he added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has admitted that the suspicion among potential donors was hampering the fund-raising effort to help more than 14 million people displaced by the floods. "There's reluctance, even people in this country are not giving generously into this flood fund because they're not too sure the money will be spent honestly," Sharif said.

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waltky · 09-05-2010, 07:43 PM

Pakistani farms won't be able to plant crops...

Pakistan's flooded farms unable to be sown
Sep 5,`10 -- Abid Hussein fears the deep floodwaters that destroyed his cotton crop, rotted his wheat seeds and swept away his farming tools are not done ravaging his life.

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Just weeks before the wheat planting season is to start, his 1.5-acre (0.6-hectare) farm still lies under 3 feet (0.9 meter) of water, and he is certain it will not drain in time. "I will not be able to plant," the 35-year-old father of four said in despair. The floodwaters that already devastated one crop in the fields are threatening the next season's crop as well, an aftershock aid workers fear could add to Pakistan's misery and prolong the crisis.

If they miss this season, farmers in the flood areas won't be able to plant wheat for another year and won't harvest it until May 2012, leaving many dependent on food aid for the foreseeable future. "It's a race against time in areas," said Truls Brekke, a spokesman for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The flooding that swamped as much as one-fifth of the country destroyed 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of maize, rice, sugar cane and cotton crops and killed 1.2 million livestock and 6 million poultry, according to preliminary estimates by the U.N. and the government.

It also damaged farming infrastructure crucial to beginning the planting season on time at the end of the month. Thousands of irrigation channels are covered in mud or washed away completely. Bore wells were damaged and destroyed along with tractors and farm tools. And some of the dead cattle were used to till the fields.

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