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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said Sunday the flooding in Pakistan was the worst disaster he had
ever seen, and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the
up to 20 million people affected.


      Ban's comments reflect the concern of the international
community about the unfolding disaster in Pakistan, which is
battling al-Qaida and Taliban militants, has a weak and unpopular
government, and an anemic economy propped up by international
assistance.


      "This has been a heart-wrenching day for me," Ban said after
flying over the hard hit areas with President Asif Ali Zardari. "I
will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed
today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around
the world, but nothing like this."


      The floods began more than two weeks ago in the mountainous
northwest and have now hit about one-quarter of the country,
especially its agricultural heartland. While the death toll of
1,500 is relatively small, the scale of the flooding and number of
people whose lives have been disrupted is staggering.


      The world body has appealed for an initial $460 million to
provide relief, but only 20 percent has been given.


      Once the floods recede, billions more will be needed for
reconstruction and getting people back to work in the already-poor
nation of 170 million people. The International Monetary Fund has
warned the floods could dent economic growth and fuel inflation.


      "Waves of flood must be met with waves of support from the
world," said Ban. "I'm here to urge the world to step up
assistance," he said.


      President Zardari has been criticized for his response to the
disaster, especially for going ahead with a state visit to Europe
just as the crisis was unfolding. Zardari has visited victims twice
since returning, but images of him at a family owned chateau while
in France are likely to hurt him for months to come.


      In his first comments to the media since returning, he defended
the government.


      "The government has responded very responsibly," he said,
saying the army, the police, the navy and officials were all
working to relieve the suffering. "I would appeal to the press to
understand the magnitude of the disaster."


      Zardari said it would take up to two years for the country to
recover.


      Ban said visa restrictions had been eased for humanitarian
workers and they now could get visas on arrival at Pakistan
airports.


      On Saturday, the prime minister said 20 million people had been
made homeless in the disaster. Ban said one out of 10 Pakistanis
had been directly or indirectly affected or "possibly 20 billion
people."


      The monsoon rains that triggered the disaster are forecast to
fall for several weeks yet, meaning the worst may not yet be over.
Over the weekend, tens of thousand of people were forced to flee
their homes when they were inundated by fresh floods from the
swollen River Indus.


      While local charities and international agencies have helped
hundreds of thousands of people with food, water, shelter and
medical treatment, the scale of the disaster has meant that many
millions have received little or no assistance. The U.N. has voiced
fears that disease in overcrowded and unsanitary relief camps may
yet cause more deaths.


      Earlier Sunday, survivors fought over food being handed out from
a relief vehicle close to the town of Sukkur in hard-hit Sindh
province, ripping at each other's clothes and causing such chaos
that the distribution had to be abandoned, according to an
Associated Press reporter at the scene.


      "The impatience of the people has deprived us of the little
food that had come," said Shaukat Ali, a flood victim waiting for
food.


      Waters five feet deep washed through Derra Allah
Yar, a city of 300,000 people on the border of Sindh and
Baluchistan provinces, said government official Salim Khoso. About
200,000 had fled the city and Khoso said he did not know how they
would be fed.


      "We are here like beggars," said Mukhtar Ali, a 45-year-old
accountant living on the side of a highway along with thousands of
other people. "The last food we received was a small packet of
rice yesterday and 15 of us shared that."


      Associated Press writer Ashraf Khan contributed to this report
from Sukkur.
      

Gallery

On the ground in Pakistan after devastating floods

Disasters

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
said Sunday the flooding in Pakistan was the worst disaster he had
ever seen, and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the
up to 20 million people affected.


UN chief: Pakistan floods worst he has ever seen

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