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SHAKE AND BLOW
Pakistan warns of more rain after flood deaths hit 45
by Staff Writers
Karachi (AFP) Aug 04, 2013


Sudan air-drops aid to flood-stricken capital: media
Khartoum (AFP) Aug 04, 2013 - Sudan air-dropped aid on Sunday to thousands of people affected by flooding caused by heavy rains in the Khartoum area, state-linked media reported.

Water 1.5 metres deep (five feet) covered roads in the east of the capital, the official SUNA news agency reported.

Khartoum is surrounded by desert, but the rains late last week turned parts of the city into lakes and drove residents from their homes.

"Khartoum state was delivering aid by air until this morning," said Mohammed Mustafa Al-Sinari, aid commissioner of Khartoum state.

He was quoted by the Sudanese Media Centre, which is close to the security apparatus.

"We supplied them with food and prepared 10,000 tents, medicine and blankets," Sinari said.

Drainage is poor in the capital, where even a little rain can cause flooding.

Other parts of the country have also been inundated.

Six pilgrims drown in swollen river in Nepal: police
Kathmandu, Madhyamanchal (AFP) Aug 05, 2013 - Six pilgrims drowned in northeastern Nepal Monday while trying to cross a rain-swollen river, becoming the latest casualties of heavy monsoon downpours, a local police official said.

The pilgrims were crossing the Kamala River, which flows through Nepal and northern India, after early morning prayers at a nearby Hindu temple, Manohar Jha, a district police official, told AFP.

"They successfully crossed the river on their way to the temple. But the river was flooded when they returned at around six am local time," Jha said.

A seventh pilgrim remains missing, Jha said.

Incessant rain since Sunday night has left hundreds of Indian and Nepali pilgrims stranded at the temple, he added.

It was still unclear whether the drowned pilgrims were Nepali or Indian.

Thousands of pilgrims visit the Mahadev temple during the Nepali month of Sawan (July 15 to August 15), according to Jha.

This year's monsoon rains have devastated rural communities in mountainous Nepal, destroying crops and damaging thousands of homes.

According to government figures, 60 people were killed in floods triggered by heavy downpours in June and July.

Hundreds of people die every year from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season in Nepal.

Pakistani disaster relief officials issued fresh flood warnings Sunday after the death toll from heavy monsoon rains rose to 45 and waters paralysed parts of the largest city Karachi.

Flash floods caused by monsoon downpours have inundated some main roads in the sprawling port city and swept away homes in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In neighbouring Afghanistan, flash floods caused by days of torrential rain have killed more than 40 people, mostly in Surobi district east of Kabul.

Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority warned that more thunderstorms and heavy rains were expected on Monday and some rivers may flood.

At least 45 people have been killed in the floods over the weekend. Officials in Karachi said at least 19 had died in the city to add to 20 dead in the northwest and six in the southwestern province of Baluchistan.

Doctor Semi Jamali at the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi told AFP that most of the deaths occurred due to electrocution or collapsing roofs and walls.

Army engineers helped relief efforts in Karachi on Sunday where roads and streets were flooded and the city was practically paralysed, an AFP reporter said.

Authorities in the city of 18 million people, which contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP, said it would take more than two days to clear up after the water flooded markets, buildings and houses and blocked roads.

Hundreds of cars were seen half-submerged after poor sewerage and drainage systems choked due to garbage.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent three of his cabinet ministers to inspect damage in flood-hit areas.

Pakistan has suffered devastating monsoon floods for the last three years, including the worst in its history in 2010 when catastrophic inundations killed almost 1,800 people and affected 21 million.

Flash floods in Afghanistan kill more than 40
Kabul, Kaboul (AFP) Aug 04, 2013 - Flash floods triggered by days of torrential rain have killed more than 40 people in Afghanistan, destroying dozens of houses, a senior disaster official said Sunday.

Heavy flooding that began three days ago hit nine eastern and southeastern provinces and some districts of the capital Kabul.

Surobi district of Kabul was the hardest hit, Ghulam Farooq, the head of emergency operations for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, told AFP.

"The primary report indicates that 35 people have died in Surobi district, eight in Khost and one in Kapisa," he said.

Four people were missing in eastern Nangarhar province, he added.

The floodwaters also destroyed hundreds of hectares of farmland and displaced hundreds of people in those provinces, he said.

"At least 237 houses have been destroyed in Surobi alone," he said.

He said emergency teams had been sent to the areas to assess the situation.

Harsh winters in Afghanistan and heavy snowfalls often cause swollen rivers that trigger flooding in the mountainous country in spring and summer.

But this year, Afghanistan witnessed one of the hottest summers in decades with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius in some parts.

Across the border in Pakistan floods have also killed 45 people with disaster relief officials warning more rain was on its way.

Flash floods caused by monsoon downpours have inundated some main roads in the sprawling port city of Karachi and swept away homes in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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SHAKE AND BLOW
Lourdes closed, 200 evacuated after flash floods
Toulouse, France (AFP) June 18, 2013
French authorities Tuesday shut the grotto at Lourdes and evacuated about 200 people following flash floods at the Roman Catholic pilgrimage site. The preventive measure came a day after heavy rain and unseasonal snowfall in the area led to rivers flowing well above their normal levels, even cutting off some roads. "The Sanctuaries are closed," the local prefecture of the Haute-Garonne a ... read more


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