Toll from Pak floods close to 400

BAR DALORI, Aug 19 (AFP): Rescuers and residents resumed searching on Tuesday for survivors as the death toll from five days of torrential rain rose to almost 400, with authorities warning monsoon downpours would continue until the weekend.

Torrential rains across Pakistan's north have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, leaving many residents trapped in the rubble and scores missing.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 356 people were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a mountainous province in Pakistan's northwest bordering Afghanistan, since Thursday evening. Dozens more were killed in surrounding regions, taking the toll in the past five days to almost 400.

Rescuers dug through mud and stone in hard-hit Dalori village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the hope of finding survivors and the bodies of people missing.

Villagers stood watching and praying as the rescuers worked, a day after the search was halted by more intense rain.

Umar Islam, a 31-year-old labourer, struggled to hold back his tears as he spoke about his father, who was killed on Monday.

"Our misery is beyond explanation," Islam told AFP as neighbours tried to

console him. "In a matter of minutes, we lost everything we had," he said. "Our lives are ruined."

Fazal Akbar, 37, another villager, described the aftermath of the floods as "terrifying". "It happened so suddenly that no one even had a minute to react. Announcements were made from the mosque, and villagers rushed to begin the rescue themselves," said Akbar.

"In less than 20 minutes, our village was reduced to ruins." Many roads have been damaged, making it hard for rescuers to reach areas damaged by the floods.

Communication also remains difficult, with phone networks hit in flood-affected areas. Heavy rain also began falling on Tuesday in southern parts of Pakistan that had so far been spared the worst of the monsoon downpours.

The rain was expected to continue until Saturday, and "another spell is to start by the end of the month", said NDMA chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik.

More than 700 people have been killed in the monsoon rains since June 26, the NDMA said, with close to 1,000 injured. The monsoon is expected to last until mid-September.

Authorities also warned of urban flooding in big cities in coastal areas of Sindh province, including the financial capital Karachi, "due to weak infrastructure".