Troops battling floods — hundreds have died
ISLAMABAD — Military specialists blew up dikes in central Pakistan to divert swollen rivers and save cities from raging floods that have killed hundreds of people, authorities said Saturday, as officials stepped up efforts in India’s part of Kashmir to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
In Pakistan, the breaches at the overflowing Chenab River were performed overnight as floodwaters reached Multan, a city famous for its Sufi saints. Pakistani news channels showed pictures of floodwaters gushing through the blown-up dikes.
Officials have been using helicopters and boats to evacuate marooned people since Sept. 3, when floods caused by monsoon rains hit Pakistan and Kashmir, which is divided between Pakistan and neighboring India.
Pakistan’s military said Saturday that it was still evacuating people and air-dropping food in the districts of Multan, Muzaffargarh and Jhang. It said troops had delivered tons of food in floodaffected areas, while the army’s medical teams were also treating patients.
Ahmad Kamal, the spokesman for Pakistan’s National Disaster Management authority, said rains and floods had killed 280 people and injured more than 500 in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. More than 2 million people had been affected, he said.
On Saturday, staterun Pakistan television showed pictures of men and women wading through waist-deep waters. It also showed army helicopters plucking people from rooftops and trees in inundated villages.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif traveled to Jhang on Saturday.
About 200 people have died in Indiancontrolled Kashmir, where floodwaters have receded, enabling people to return to their homes.
Medical teams in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-held Kashmir, were stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases, officials said Saturday.