Death Toll in India, Pakistan Floods Reaches 400

The death toll from floods in Pakistan and India reached 400 on Tuesday as armies in both countries scrambled to help the victims and authorities in Islamabad warned hundreds of thousands to be prepared to flee more flooding in the days ahead. The flash floods, which began on Sept. 3, have put more than 1.5 million people in peril and left thousands of families homeless in the two neighboring states. Pakistan’s minister for water and power, Khwaja Mohammad Asif, warned parliament that some 700,000 people have been told to leave their homes, which could be inundated in the next four days. Pakistani and Indian troops have been using boats and helicopters to drop food supplies for stranded families and evacuate victims. The floods have also triggered landslides in both sections of the divided Kashmir region, split between the two arch rivals, and caused much devastation in northern and eastern Pakistan. The rains washed away houses, bridges, communication equipment and crops. Pakistani and Indian troops have evacuated more than 60,000 people to safer places, according to the statements from Indian and Pakistani armies, according to AP.