Pakistan flood: Sindh braces as water envelops southern Punjab

Saeed Shah in the Guardian (UK): Floodwater rushing down through Pakistan devastated new areas today, flooding parts of southern Punjab and forcing mass evacuations in Sindh. The UN estimated more than 4 million people are now affected by Pakistan's worst flooding in 80 years, which has washed away homes, infrastructure and crops. Parts of southern Punjab were described as "a giant lake".

In Sindh, 350,000 people were moved from their homes in low-lying areas near the river as the authorities issued a flood red alert. The surging waters now threaten two key barrages, at Guddu, on the Punjab-Sindh boundary, and the huge Raj-era construction at Sukkar, just inside Sindh.

Yesterday, Kot Adu, a town in south Punjab, lay submerged, with almost its entire population of 300,000 evacuated. Uzma Shafi, an aid worker with the charity Plan International, speaking from close to Kot Adu, said camps are "being arranged but the government does not have the capacity to cope with all these people".

The raging waters are following the Indus river. The official death toll stands at more than 1,600 but the real figure is unknown. In Punjab, Pakistan's bread basket, over 1m acres of crops have been destroyed. "The body of water going south is affecting a large highly densely populated area. It is the food basket of Pakistan, so it will have long-term effects," said Oscar Butragueno of Unicef….