Major tragedies like this are so massive that their true impact often fails to hit us.
I find it is often a little individual story or a tiny example of human suffering that brings it home to me. Then I can multiply that by thousands. Then I understand the true enormity.
Thanks for posting El Loro.

Absoloutely horrifying ..........it's not that long ago they had a major earthquake.

Makes you count your blessings doesn't it?

Bump.

I have asked Seattle if they would be willing to add a sticky to this thread, as with all the activity in this forum there is a real likelyhood that this thread will get lost without frequent bumping.

My apologies to those members who get annoyed by the number of stickies, but this is a disaster which is worsening by the hour as the flood waters move south the river Indus flooding new areas, and of course the monsoon rains are continuing. This evening's news says that now over 4 million people are affected.

Seattle won't put on a sticky as this is not forum related.

They advise us to keep on bumping from time to time so if anyone is looking here and sees that this thread is drifiting can they give it a quick bump.

Thanks

Bump

bump

Another.
Some of the stuff on the news tonight was truly heartbreaking.

Six thousand people sharing two toilets.   Crikey Moses.

Bump, with a heavy heart an' that :* Shit

Thanks for the bumps

Bump

2 1/2 million pounds (I think they said) in just over 24 hours.
So have another bump.
£10 can buy a tent to home a family for the winter.

News from the BBC - the situation has worsened considerably. Now over 12 million people are affected.
From the BBC a few minutes ago:

The worst floods in Pakistan's history have now affected 12 million people, says the government relief agency.

General Nadeem Ahmed, of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said that figure only covered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.

Figures for Sindh province were not yet available, he added.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a charity connected to a group allegedly linked to al-Qaeda has been providing aid in flood-hit areas.

Gen Ahmed said that 650,000 houses had been destroyed, and that the highway authority had estimated it would cost about 5bn Pakistani rupees ($59m; £38m) to rebuild roads destroyed by the flood waters.

The bill for fixing damage to power infrastructure and dams would come to another 2.5bn rupees, he added.

"In my opinion, when assessments are complete, this will be the biggest disaster in the history of Pakistan," he told a news conference in Islamabad on Friday.

There is mounting anger at the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari, who left the country for a state visit to Britain to meet the UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

With flood victims bitterly accusing the authorities of failing to come to their aid, the disaster has piled yet more pressure on an administration struggling to contain Taliban violence and an economic crisis.

Flooding has submerged whole villages in the past week, killing at least 1,600 people, according to the United Nations.

And the worst floods to hit the region in 80 years could get worse, as it is only midway through monsoon season.

Flooding has also hit Indian-administered Kashmir, where more than 100 people have died in the Ladakh region.

If anyone will be in Edinburgh this weekend for the start of the festival, The Mela Festival is on at Leith Links till Sunday. There will be places there where people can donate money, clothes etc to the disaster fund

bump

Thanks for the bumps

From today's BBC:

Pakistan has issued a red alert as floods that have devastated northern areas sweep south into Sindh province.

Authorities have evacuated more than half a million people living near the Indus river as hundreds of villages have been inundated by floodwaters.

The worst floods in the region for 80 years have killed at least 1,600 people and affected about 12 million others.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has rejected criticism that he should return from an extended foreign trip.

In a BBC interview, Mr Zardari said the cabinet was directing relief efforts, and he was being kept up to date about the situation.

"I'm the one who's given all the powers from the presidency to the parliament. The parliament is in session - the Senate is in session. It's the prime minister's responsibility, and he's fulfilling his responsibility."

The president said he had secured promises of assistance from the countries he had visited - the UAE, France and the UK.

Helicopters grounded

Pakistan's meteorological agency has predicted further downpours in the badly-hit north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is only half-way through the region's monsoon season.

All the helicopters working in the north-west to deliver aid and rescue stranded survivors have been grounded because of the bad weather, according to Amal Masud of the National Disaster Management Authority.

Appearing on television, Prime Minister Gilani called the flooding the worst in Pakistan's 63-year history and appealed for help.

"I would ask the international community to support and help Pakistan alleviate the sufferings of its flood-affected people," he said.

Officials say 650,000 homes have been destroyed, 1.4m acres (557,000 hectares) of crop land has been flooded and more than 10,000 cows have died.

An official at the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Manuel Bessler, told the BBC that with crops swept away by floodwaters, some Pakistanis might be forced to rely on food aid to get through the winter.

He said the immediate priorities for survivors were clean drinking water and medical assistance.

gawd I cant read that, it makes me so sad, I have bags and bags of childrens clothes, any idea were I can donate them

A good thought - the children there are going to need them. I would suggest getting in touch with a local charity shop, such as Oxfam. The DEC appeal itself is money only.

Bump

thanks El loro

another bump

Orla Guerin's report on the BBC news tonight was heart-rending.
Couldn't watch it without weeping.

I will openly admit I am a sh$t bag who will not watch anything sad on the news as it plays on my mind for days and days

The whole thing seems to be getting worse.

As brisket says, the situation is getting worse.

This is a link to the cuurent BBC report. The report is distressing and includes Orla Guerin's report.

I think this one image sums it up

I hate the way they use images like that last one to guilt trip people though - yes the situation is very very sad and hard but some people just cannot afford to give money and images like that one just make them feel worse about it.


At the end of the day there are so many charities that need help these days it is near impossible to support them all and for some people it is very hard to choose which ones to support!

I understand what you say pretty_p  but, even though it may be difficult, I don't think you should allow yourself to feel guilty.
As you say, everyone has their own set of circumstances. They also have their own special interests, and their own priorities.
It's not possible to support everything.
I don't like to think that people find themselves being manipulated into feeling guilty.

It's almost as though they make you feel selfish for not supporting this particular cause - which I won't be doing - and that is not because I don't feel sorry for the people it is because to me personally there are far more "important" charities at this time.

pretty_p, the last thing I want to do is by my postings to make you feel guilty for not giving financial support. There are thousands of charities all pleading for money and it impossible to support more than a fraction of them. But we all can give the people support in a different way by having them in our thoughts, and for those of a religious nature - they can say a prayer.

at this present time WHAT??

There are chrities that need money every day and in particular there is a charity local to myself who are deperate for funding - just because there has been a disaster somewhere else the needs of these charities does not decrease

This appeal is nationwide, has been on TV/radio/press. El Loro has posted this for information purposes, if you dont want to contribute, dont.

Lockes...i was asking about this yesterday at the Mela Festival. There will be Red Cross and Oxfam lorries going  over filled with donations i.e  tents, clothing, bottled water etc. Ask at your local Oxfam shop where the pick up points will be x

Okay already, I get it! Charity begins at home etc. But some us see our home in a much wider sense, and see people suffering thousands of miles away as our neighbours. As skylark has just said, if you don't want to give to this appeal then don't.
..... "just because there has been a disaster somewhere else the needs of these charities does not decrease"....what an odd way to look at it! However difficult it is to look at that photo ^^^^^, imagine being in that photo!

I am not saying charity begins at home what I am saying is that when major events like this do happen we see so many shocking images we are almost guilt tripped into donating money etc.  None of us have a never ending pot of money therefore we end up giving money at the expense of other charities whose need does not decrease suring such times!!

Don't have my serious head on at the mo so not contributing but just wanted to say to Pretty P it's good to see you here
Even when I disagree with you, I like the debate!

Early morning bump