Flooding Strikes Pakistan for Second Time in Little More Than a Year
A villager sits on a broken piece of a brick wall outside of his flood-affected home in the village of Vasandawali south of Muzaffargarh in Punjab, Pakistan. Aug. 21, 2010.
In Pakistan, heavy rains and floods have forced two million people to flee their homes. An estimated 300 people have died, and 400,000 homes have been destroyed. Vital crops have been washed away and millions remain at risk for diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, dengue fever and cholera.
This is in addition to the 20 million people who were displaced by floods last year, many of whom still have not been able to move back to their homes. Last year's death toll was estimated at 1,600. One fifth of the country, an area larger than England, was affected. Millions of hectares of arable land became submerged underwater, causing a loss of crops and seeds for the next season.
The floods, both last year's and this one, have the power to destabilize a country already plagued by civil unrest, corruption, and militants.