The death toll from floods over the weekend in India and Pakistan rose to 400 on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands are stranded, and thousands of homes and areas of farmland have been ruined.
From the BBC:
Flood waters submerged homes after the Chenab river rose dramatically over the weekend, causing what has been described as a “superflood”.
…In Indian-administered Kashmir, rescue workers are intensifying efforts to reach people stranded after the worst floods there in half a century.
With road and communication links broken getting to those stranded in remote areas is proving to be a stiff challenge.
Though Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have offered to help each other’s countries, the heavy militarization of Kashmir—the region is divided and claimed by both India and Pakistan—means they are unlikely to accept aid from one another.
Survivors complain of the lack of warning, planning, and preparation by local authorities. Pakistani authorities have since warned that hundreds of thousands should be prepared to flee more flooding in the coming days.
