New storm warnings in pakistan hinder rescue

Pakistan’s government on Tuesday wrestled with a natural disaster that seemed to grow by the hour as new storm warnings threatened to deepen the worst floods in 80 years.

Estimates of the dead and displaced have been steadily growing since the flooding began last week. The United Nations Childrens Fund, an aid organization usually known as Unicef, said 3 million people in the country had been affected by the floods, including 1 million children in need of emergency assistance. Unicef also said the floodwaters had claimed 1,400 lives, according to New York Times.

The government issued new flood warnings on Tuesday as monsoon rains resumed, forcing the suspension of relief activities in several northwestern parts of the country and raising fears the high water levels would threaten Pakistan’s third-biggest dam.
The latest warning about Warsak Dam, roughly 20 miles, or 30 kilometers northwest of Peshawar, the provincial capital, spread panic among residents of the city and its neighboring areas.

“If needed, forced evacuation will be started”, Adnan Khan, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Authority of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.

Local news media reported that people had fled from three villages near the dam.

A special session of the federal cabinet will convene on Wednesday to discuss the flood situation, said Babar Awan, the country’s law minister.

The United States already has pledged $10 million in relief; the United Nations has offered $10 million; and China has pledged $1.5 million, according to the Xinhua state news agency.