Floods test defenses for southern Pakistani cities

[August 23, 2010]  SHADAD KOT, Pakistan (AP) -- Workers piled stones and sandbags to plug leaks in a levee protecting a pair of southern Pakistani cities Monday, as the floods that have destroyed homes, farmland and livelihoods moved slowly toward the sea.

Authorities are increasingly worried that even the 10 miles (18 kilometers) of new levees soldiers have built to protect Shadad Kot, and Qambar city further to the south, may not protect them from the massive floods.

"It is the last ditch effort to save the city," said Brig Khawar Baig. "We are trying to block the water here. If it crosses over, we fear it will go further south and inundate more towns."

Ninety percent of Shadad Kot's 350,000 residents have already fled the city. Many have also left Qambar and other nearby towns.

Water levels were still rising, Baig said, and it was unclear when it would reach its crest.

On the eastern side of the city, levees were under pressure from 9-foot (2.7-meter) high floodwaters, said Yaseen Shar, the top administrative official.

"We are fighting this constant threat by filling the breaches with stones and sand bags but it is a very challenging task," he said.

Meanwhile, a bus carrying people fleeing the water plunged into a flooded ravine in Punjab province, and at least 13 people died.

Police official Jawed Amjad said the bus, traveling from Karachi to Peshawar, crashed into the ravine about 3 a.m. He said 29 of the 59 passengers were rescued, 13 bodies were recovered and 17 people were missing. The missing may have been swept away in the rushing waters, he said.

The floods have left about 6 million people homeless from the mountainous north to the southern plains, and are expected to begin draining into the Arabian Sea in the coming days.

On Monday, hundreds of people who fled the floods blocked a highway near the town of Kot Adu in Punjab province to protest the slow pace of aid deliveries.

"No food came here for the last two days ... We can wait -- children can't," said Mohammad Iqbal, one of about 400 protesters.

Pakistan's shaky government has come under criticism for its response and will require billions of dollars in foreign aid to rebuild. The scale of the disaster has raised fears that Islamist extremists such as the Taliban may regroup in the misery.

Local charities, the Pakistani army and international agencies are providing food, water, medicine and shelter to the displaced, but millions have received little or help. Aid officials warn that waterborne diseases such as cholera now pose a real threat.

On Sunday, the government said the world has given or pledged more than $800 million of aid to the country.

[Associated Press; By ASHRAF KHAN]

Associated Press writers Khalid Tanveer in Muzaffargarh, Aaron Favila in Kot Adu and Tim Sullivan in Sukkur contributed to this report.

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