U.N.: 1 million more displaced by flooding in Pakistan
THATTA, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis fled floodwaters Friday after the surging River Indus smashed through levees in two places, but many refused to leave the danger zone while others took shelter in an ancient graveyard for Muslim saints.
The new flooding came after the Taliban issued a veiled threat against foreign aid workers helping out in the crisis, a development likely to complicate the massive relief effort. More than 8 million people are in need of emergency assistance across the country.
The floods began in the mountainous northwest about a month ago with the onset of monsoon rains and have moved slowly down the country toward the coast in the south, inundating vast swaths of prime agricultural land and damaging or destroying more than 1 million homes.
About 175,000 people are believed to have fled their homes overnight in the southern city of Thatta after the levee protecting the city was breached, said Manzoor Sheikh, a senior government official.