Disease fears rise in flooded Pakistan
  • 13 years ago
Sayeda Bibi wades through a flooded street in Mirpur Khas, Pakistan.
She needs to take her one-year-old daughter to hospital.
(SOUNDBITE) (Sindhi) FLOOD VICTIM, SAYEDA BIBI, SAYING:
"Where can we go? I have to wade through the water to take my child to the hospital to get medication. She has a cough and fever and diarrhea. I have to walk through this water. What else can I do?."
The latest floods, triggered by monsoon rains, have killed at least 230 people.
1.2 million houses have been damaged or destroyed, with over 300,000 people being moved to shelters.
Aid groups have warned of a growing risk of fatal diseases.
Some residents feel they have been forgotten by the government.
(SOUNDBITE) (Sindhi) KHAMISA, CAB DRIVER, SAYING:
"There are skin diseases and people's feet have developed sores. All the children and women in my family are sick. There is no doctor or medical care here. What can we do? Nobody is bothered about the poor folks here."
The floods add to the many challenges the government is facing, from a stubborn Taliban insurgency, to frustration over power cuts.
Last year, floods killed around 2000 people and left 11 million homeless in one of the country's worst natural disasters.
Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters
Recommended