Saturday, June 30, 2007
Anger and despair in Balochistan - BBC News
A cyclone has caused devastating floods in Pakistan's Balochistan, with 800,000 people hit and many thousands of homes destroyed.
The scene is one of total devastation.
Gushing flood waters from the Kech Kaur river ploughed through a vast area on both sides, levelling entire villages, chopping down date palms and destroying crops over thousands of acres.
"The floods came with a roar, and they were upon us before we knew," says Bijar Baloch.
As the dykes of the river gave way to the rising tide of water, Mr Baloch and around 30 others worked on in their date palm orchards near Solband village, believing they would be out of the area by the time the water reached their fields.
But a stream broke through from the hills on the other side, surrounding them completely. "Before they knew, the water was up to their knees and the roads had breached. The only way left was up - to the rooftop of a nearby mosque," says Mr Baloch.
They were rescued from there by a Pakistan Navy helicopter 38 hours later.
...
"Everything is lost. Our crops, our food stores, our irrigation system, our water wells," says Gulab Ahmad. "Our roads have turned to ditches and our villages have become riverbeds. I cannot even imagine how we are going to bring it back to life."
...
A cyclone has caused devastating floods in Pakistan's Balochistan, with 800,000 people hit and many thousands of homes destroyed.
The scene is one of total devastation.
Gushing flood waters from the Kech Kaur river ploughed through a vast area on both sides, levelling entire villages, chopping down date palms and destroying crops over thousands of acres.
"The floods came with a roar, and they were upon us before we knew," says Bijar Baloch.
As the dykes of the river gave way to the rising tide of water, Mr Baloch and around 30 others worked on in their date palm orchards near Solband village, believing they would be out of the area by the time the water reached their fields.
But a stream broke through from the hills on the other side, surrounding them completely. "Before they knew, the water was up to their knees and the roads had breached. The only way left was up - to the rooftop of a nearby mosque," says Mr Baloch.
They were rescued from there by a Pakistan Navy helicopter 38 hours later.
...
"Everything is lost. Our crops, our food stores, our irrigation system, our water wells," says Gulab Ahmad. "Our roads have turned to ditches and our villages have become riverbeds. I cannot even imagine how we are going to bring it back to life."
...
Labels: suffering
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