1 million more displaced by Pakistan floods: UN

Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis fled floodwaters Friday after the surging Indus River smashed through levees in two places, but many refused to leave the danger zone while others took shelter in an ancient graveyard for Muslim saints. More than 8 million people are in need of emergency assistance across the country. The floods began in the mountainous northwest about a month ago with the onset of monsoon rains and have moved slowly down the country toward the coast in the south, inundating vast swaths of prime agricultural land and damaging or destroying more than 1 million homes. About 175,000 people are believed to have fled their homes overnight in the southern city of Thatta after the levee protecting the city was breached. Authorities were trying to repair the levee, about 75 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of the major coastal city of Karachi. The situation is getting worse. The water is flowing into a nearby canal endangering Thatta city. A second breach occurred in the Soorjani levee in the same region. Thousands of people are sitting with their cattle and belongings and their lives are in danger. They are not willing to leave. Dozens of people taking shelter in the Makli Hill burial ground, one of the largest such sites in the world. The graveyard, which is not believed to be in danger, houses the ornate tombs of hundreds of Muslim saints dating from the 14th century. Protesters blocked a nearby highway with burning tires. They said they heeded evacuation orders, but now had no food, water or shelter. UN spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said about 1 million people have been displaced in Thatta and Qambar-Shadadkot districts since Wednesday. The United Nations, the Pakistani army and a host of other local and international relief groups have been rushing aid workers, medicine, food and water to the affected regions, but are unable to reach many people. U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said the U.N. remained committed to helping the flood victims. We will obviously take these threats seriously as we did before, and take appropriate precautions, but we will not be deterred from doing what we believe we need to do, which is help the people of Pakistan, he told a news conference at U.N. headquarters in New York.