U.N. says 27 die in floods in northwest Pakistan

Published 10:03 pm Tuesday, August 17, 2010

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Flash floods have killed at least 27 people in northwestern Pakistan, and more than 80,000 have seen their homes or crops destroyed, U.N. and government officials said today.

Heavy monsoon rains since Sunday have displaced thousands of people in villages in Mardan and Swabi districts, where many refugees from a recent army offensive against the Taliban have been staying.

Nine people were missing and around 80,000 were affected in the two districts, a U.N. statement said. It estimated more than 400 houses had been swept away.

“People have lost their crops, stored food supplies and livestock,” said a local government official, Khalid Khan Omarzai.

Residents of the districts hosted the majority of some 2 million people displaced from the nearby Swat valley, sharing the majority of their food supplies, Omarzai said. Many of the displaced have been returning home after the military declared victory.

Omarzai urged international and local aid agencies to move in quickly, especially in areas where a state of emergency had already been declared.

The U.N. said it was sending 500 tents and other items, and the World Health Organization has already set up camps in the affected areas.