Pakistan braced for more floods as death toll stands at 1,500

 Guardian

• Food shortage fears as Punjab crops affected
• Boats and helicopters evacuate stricken villagers

Associated Press in Kot Addu

Flooding ravaged hundreds of villages in Pakistan's main province of Punjab today, destroying homes, soaking crops, and threatening more lives. Aid workers warned that bloated rivers would surge south soon, affecting more areas.

This year's monsoon season has caused the worst flooding in Pakistan in living memory and has already killed more than 1,500 people.

The UN has been scrambling to provide food and other assistance to approximately 3.2 million affected people in a nation already struggling with Islamist militancy and a poor economy.

After causing huge destruction in Pakistan's volatile north-west, floodwaters deluged villages and some urban centres in Punjab, the richest and most populous province. The army has been using boats and helicopters to help move stranded villagers to higher ground.

Water was so high only treetops and uppermost floors of some buildings were visible in large tracts of Kot Addu and the nearby area of Layyah in the south of the province.

Military spokesman Major General Nadir Zeb told reporters that at least 30,000 people had been rescued from flood-hit zones in Kot Addu and other areas over the previous 72 hours. He warned of more flooding, with more heavy rain forecast for the next few days.

"People must co-operate with us, and they must leave those areas where floods are going to hit," he said.

Monsoon season in Pakistan usually lasts about three months. In a typical year the country gets an average 137mm (5.4 inches) of rainfall during the monsoon season.

This year it has already received 160mm (6.3 inches), said Muhammad Hanif, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre in Islamabad.

Rain was falling at 25%-30% above normal rates, Hanif added. The north-west was experiencing "once-in-a-century" rains, hitting it the hardest.

Rain is expected there in coming days, although at normal levels, which should allow for some recovery. The vast majority of deaths have been reported in the region.

Punjab in the country's east and Sindh province in the south, however, should expect significant rainfall, Hanif warned.

At least 47 people had been killed in Punjab flooding since late July, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said.

Nearly 1,000 villages have been affected and some 25,000 houses destroyed in the province, according to the UN.

The rush of muddy water over river banks in Punjab threatened to destroy vast stretches of crops that make the province Pakistan's breadbasket. Numerous crops have also been lost in the north-west.

The loss of farm produce has led to UN warnings of serious food shortages, and the World Food Program estimates that 1.8 million people will need to be fed over the next month.

Rescue workers have struggled to deliver aid because of washed-out bridges and roads, while communication lines have been destroyed.

Several foreign countries, including the United States, have stepped in to help. But many flood victims have complained that aid is not reaching them fast enough or at all, expressing anger that could grow as flooding spreads to new areas.