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Pakistan Orders Evacuations as Flooding Worsens

   VOA News 26 August 2010
   Pakistan  villagers  are  rescued  by volunteers from a heavy flooding
   area  of  Shahdad Kot, in southern Pakistan. Pakistan's medical system
   has  been  badly  hit  by  weeks  of flooding, with hundreds of health
   facilities damaged and tens of thousands of medical wo

Photo: AP

   Pakistan  villagers  are  rescued  by volunteers from a heavy flooding
   area  of  Shahdad Kot, in southern Pakistan. Pakistan's medical system
   has  been  badly  hit  by  weeks  of flooding, with hundreds of health
   facilities damaged and tens of thousands of medical workers displaced,
   the  prime  minister  said  as  the  country  braced for the spread of
   disease, 24 Aug 2010.

   Pakistani  officials are urging 400,000 people to evacuate three towns
   threatened by new flooding.

   Authorities issued the warning Thursday after the Indus River breached
   an  embankment in southern Sindh province. Officials say the residents
   of Sujawal, Mir Pur Batoro and Daro are at risk.

   The  floods  that  began almost one month ago have killed an estimated
   1,600 Pakistanis and displaced millions of others.

   The United Nations says 800,000 people are still cut off by the floods
   and can only receive aid by air.

   Pakistani  authorities  have  been  working  to  shore  up  levees and
   evacuate  tens of thousands of people from southern regions at risk of
   additional flooding this week.

   Meantime, a U.S. general says he is confident Pakistan's military will
   keep  fighting  insurgents despite devoting major resources to dealing
   with the disaster.

   Brigadier  General  Michael Nagata said Wednesday he believes Pakistan
   will  continue  a dedicated, committed and aggressive struggle against
   violent extremists.

   He  was  speaking  to  reporters  at  the  Pentagon via satellite from
   Pakistan's  Ghazi  air  base,  where  he  is supervising U.S. military
   efforts to help Pakistani forces provide relief to flood victims.

   Nagata  declined  to  answer  questions  about  the pace of Pakistan's
   anti-insurgent  campaign.  The United States wants Islamabad to expand
   operations  against insurgents who use tribal regions along the Afghan
   border as a base to attack U.S-led forces in Afghanistan.

   The  head of the U.S. Marine Corps, General James Conway, said Tuesday
   the   Pakistani  military  has  scaled  back  some  counter-insurgency
   operations to focus on flood relief.

   Nagata praised the Pakistani military for providing experienced pilots
   to guide American helicopters on relief missions in the rugged terrain
   of Pakistan's Swat Valley. He said Pakistan also has deployed security
   guards on U.S. aircraft to provide additional protection.

   Nagata  said  the  U.S. military has deployed 19 helicopters and about
   230  personnel  to  join  relief  efforts in Pakistan. He saidthe U.S.
   military  has  provided  450  tons  of aid and rescued more than 6,000
   people so far.

   Charities  linked  to  Pakistan-based  militant  groups also have been
   providing  assistance  to  flood  victims.  Pakistani  officials  have
   expressed  concern  that  insurgents  will  exploit  the  situation to
   undermine the government.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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