By Waseem Sattar
SUKKUR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's biggest floods in 80 years threaten to inflict widespread suffering in Sindh Province after the unpopular government let down millions of people ravaged in the disaster in other parts of the country.
Raging waters have spread from the northwest to the Punjab agricultural heartland and down to the southern province of Sindh, as Pakistanis watched villages collapse, thousands of people drown, and their president leave for state visits abroad at the height of the disaster. Officials in Sindh, home to Pakistan's biggest city and commercial hub Karachi, are scrambling to prevent heavy loss of life and more destruction to the mainstay agriculture industry.
Rural areas are expected to be hit hardest.
About 350,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas of the Indus river basin in Sindh.
President Asif Ali Zardari, already squeezed by a Taliban insurgency, chronic power cuts and many other critical issues, is on the political defensive once again after his decision to travel abroad brought during the catastrophe drew fierce criticism.
The floods brought on by monsoon rains have devastated more than 3 million people, killed more than 1,500 and reinforced the view that Pakistani civilian governments perceived as corrupt and weak are unable to handle major crises, leaving the powerful army to step in.
Damage in Punjab may indicate what kind of troubles could be in store for Sindh.
BOATS AND HELICOPTERS
The Punjab Relief and Crisis Management Department said 1,343 villages were affected and more than 25,000 houses destroyed. Sixteen people had been killed in the province.
Authorities in Sindh said they were prepared despite treacherous conditions.
"Torrential rains since yesterday have hampered our efforts to evacuate people from the banks of the river. All our vehicles are off the road because the area is so slippery because of mud," a senior district government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Harejo, told Reuters by telephone.
Even though dozens of villages have been submerged, he said people were reluctant to leave their homes.
"You cannot scare them from water. If you tell them a big water-surge is on the way, they reply, 'Go and take care of our cities, don't worry about us. We are excellent swimmers'. "
"We're prepared," he added. "In addition to 1,000 workers, 400 army and navy forces are here to help us with boats and helicopters."
Many Pakistani complained that cash-strapped state authorities failed to warn them that raging waters were headed their way.
It's too early to gauge the economic costs of the floods but they are likely to be staggering. Pakistan depends heavily on foreign aid.
The United States wants Zardari's government to bring political and economic stability to Pakistan, an ally and regional power it believes can help ease a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, where an American troop pullout starts next summer.
After $10 million in initial aid, the United States on Wednesday pledged a major effort to help millions hit by the epic floods in Pakistan, while also hoping to boost Washington's image there, where anti-American sentiment runs high.
(Additional reporting by Sahar Ahmed in KARACHI and Kamran Haider and Augustine Anthony in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Chris Allbritton)
