India, Pakistan Flooding Update: Nearly 1,000 Villages Completely Flooded as the Death Toll Climbs

http://www.wunderground.com/news/india-pakistan-flooding-update-20140908?

By Eric Zerkel
Published: September 8, 2014

The most potent seasonal monsoon rains to hit India and Pakistan in more than five decades are devastating the two countries, causing landslides, home collapses, thousands of evacuations, countless water rescues and unprecedented flooding.

More than 320 people have died across the two countries from rain related catastrophes, and authorities from both countries are warning the death toll will likely climb as water levels in two of the region's major rivers rise.

Six straight days of monsoon rain in the contested region of Kashmir triggered the flooding, which has so far completely inundated more than 980 villages -- 450 villages in India, 530 in Pakistan -- forcing the Pakistani and Indian military into action to rescue thousands of stranded residents. Worse yet, flooding could only worsen in the coming days as water levels in the Chenab and Indus rivers continue to climb.

In Pakistan, government officials estimate more than 9,000 people have fled or evacuated their homes. And in India, more than 5,000 people were rescued from raging floodwaters across more than 2,000 villages affected or submerged by floodwaters.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the scope of the devastation a "national disaster" and extended a relief offer to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for areas of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Widespread electricity, phone service and water outages were reported across the region, leaving many in need of rescue with no means of communication to rescuers. One television report showed people who had climbed to the top of trees to avoid being swept away by floodwaters and then waited there for more than 20 hours before being rescued.

Many rescue attempts were disrupted by fast-moving waters and other dangerous conditions.

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But so many weren't rescued in time. More than 120 people were killed in India and another 205 killed in Pakistan after being swept away by floodwaters, electrocuted from downed power lines, or crushed by landslides and sudden home collapses.

Thousands of homes have collapsed from heavy rain and floodwaters, with water levels exceeding 12 feet in some villages.

"I'm in my 80s and I've never seen floods like this," Srinagar resident Ghulam Nabi told the Associated Press. "If this is how it is in my neighborhood, I cannot imagine the devastation in other areas."

Pakistan and India suffer widespread flooding each year during the monsoon season, which runs from June through September. In 2010, flash floods killed 1,700 people in Pakistan.

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