Pakistan Flood Refugees Desperate for Aid
It's a very sad story in Pakistan where thousands of flood survivors are camping out in the open on any high ground. Makli hill in the southern Sindh Province shows us a typical situation where victims continue to arrive as village after village is submerged.
So far floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,600 people and left at least six million homeless.
Pakistan has struggled with its response to the massive flooding, which has left one-fifth of the country underwater, an area roughly the size of Italy.
As village after village disappears under the floodwaters, thousands of people are trying to find high ground.
Typical is the Thatta region, where thousands have taken refuge on a hill two miles from the city.
Local authorities say they're trying to provide food and shelter to the hordes of hungry and homeless flood victims on Makli hill, but the numbers are ever increasing.
The scale of the disaster is overwhelming the efforts of both the local government and international partners who are trying to help.
Meanwhile distraught victims are running out of patience and many now just want to go home.
[Mohammad Hussain, Flood Victim]:
"We fled from the floods but are now out on the road. We are facing many problems because we have families and children. Now we want to go home. We will go home as soon as the water dries up. We have nothing to eat here."
[...]
Sahib Dad's eight children have been hungry most of the time since they fled to Makli hill from a village submerged nearby.
[Sahib Dad, Flood Victim]:
"We are not getting anything. We are poor with young children. Where can we go? Our houses have been swept away and we are lying on the roads. Our houses, our bedding are gone."
The United States worries that the battle against Islamist militants may have become harder in Pakistan, with a weakened administration battling economic meltdown and public fury.
So far floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,600 people and left at least six million homeless.
Pakistan has struggled with its response to the massive flooding, which has left one-fifth of the country underwater, an area roughly the size of Italy.
As village after village disappears under the floodwaters, thousands of people are trying to find high ground.
Typical is the Thatta region, where thousands have taken refuge on a hill two miles from the city.
Local authorities say they're trying to provide food and shelter to the hordes of hungry and homeless flood victims on Makli hill, but the numbers are ever increasing.
The scale of the disaster is overwhelming the efforts of both the local government and international partners who are trying to help.
Meanwhile distraught victims are running out of patience and many now just want to go home.
[Mohammad Hussain, Flood Victim]:
"We fled from the floods but are now out on the road. We are facing many problems because we have families and children. Now we want to go home. We will go home as soon as the water dries up. We have nothing to eat here."
[...]
Sahib Dad's eight children have been hungry most of the time since they fled to Makli hill from a village submerged nearby.
[Sahib Dad, Flood Victim]:
"We are not getting anything. We are poor with young children. Where can we go? Our houses have been swept away and we are lying on the roads. Our houses, our bedding are gone."
The United States worries that the battle against Islamist militants may have become harder in Pakistan, with a weakened administration battling economic meltdown and public fury.