Pakistani Flood Hits 2.5 Million
The BBC reports on the devastation being caused by flooding in Pakistan:
Up to 2.5 million people have been affected by devastating floods in north-west Pakistan, the International Red Cross has said.
Rescuers are struggling to reach 27, 000 people still cut off by the floods, which are the worst in 80 years.
At least 1,100 people have died and thousands have lost everything.
"In the worst-affected areas, entire villages were washed away without warning by walls of flood water," the Red Cross said in a statement.
There are fears diarrhoea and cholera will spread among the homeless. Food is scarce and water supplies have been contaminated by the floods.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Information Minister of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly North West Frontier Province), one of the worst-hit regions, said rescue teams were trying to reach 27,000 stranded people, including 1,500 tourists in the Swat Valley, the scene of a major military offensive against the Taliban last year.
"We are also getting confirmation of reports about an outbreak of cholera in some areas of Swat," he added.
The Pakistani military says it has committed 30,000 troops and dozens of helicopters to the relief effort, but winching individuals to safety is a slow process.
Click here to read more.
