World News

In Pakistan at least 1 million people have been left homeless after a massive flood rampaged their land. The flood, caused by a cyclone and rain since June 23, has caused the death of 211 people. But now that the flood is over the people must now turn their worries to a possible cholera outbreak and poisonous snakes.

An assessment by five foreign aid agencies described a growing number of skin and stomach ailments among the victims in Baluchistan province, many of whom were living under an open sky and drinking polluted water from rivers. “Some of the villages where we went yesterday had a bad smell. We learned a lot of livestock is buried under that mud. This is particularly dangerous because of the potential for it to lead to a cholera outbreak,” said Gul Wali Khan of Catholic Relief Services in a statement.

In neighboring Sindh province, waters from the Qabbo Canal broke through protective embankments and inundated areas as far away as 16 miles, said provincial relief commissioner Anwar Haider. Two people were in serious condition after being bitten by poisonous snakes forced out of their normal habitats by the rising waters, he said.

Cases of diarrhea, skin allergies and water-borne diseases were rising in the Qambar-Shahdadkot district of the province where the canal’s waters had displaced some 30,000 people, Haider said. Pakistan has called on the international community to rush aid to the victims while its military continued to airlift relief supplies to isolated communities.