Pakistan floods leave thousands stranded

Rescue crews and relief teams are struggling to deliver aid to thousands of people who were affected by devastating floods in northern Pakistan.

The flooding has left at least 1,500 people dead and thousands stranded, local media reported.

Several countries and charities have promised to send aid, and the Pakistani army is using helicopters to deliver food, aid supplies and tents. Relief work has been hampered because of washed-out bridges, flooded roads and downed communication lines.

Canada pledged Tuesday to provide $2 million in humanitarian assistance to Pakistan, including $1.25 million for emergency food assistance through the World Food Program.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said the contribution will go to helpmore than 150,000 families affected by the floods.

Thefunds will be distributed through the Canadian International Development Agency, with $750,000 alsogoing to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Oda said in a release.

UNICEF said roughly three million people were affected by the floods, which knocked down homes and wiped out crops.

David Morley, the CEO of Save the Children Canada, said relief workers and health teams are struggling to reach remote communities that have been hit by floods.

"We have health teams that need to get rafts that are attached to pulleys, just to get across some of the swollen rivers to be able to reach the clinics [and] the villages," Morley said.

He worries that the situation could worsen in the coming days as more rain falls and floodwaters move south.

"What they need is money," said Sallah Hamdani, theexecutive director of Islamic Relief Canada. "They need money in order to buy supplies on the ground."

Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Program, said the agency had delivered food to 40,000 people and is aiming to reach 250,000 people by the end of the week.

But "access is really remaining a major challenge," she said.

New flood warnings

Officialsissued new flood warnings Tuesday as more rains fell and rising water levels threatened to overwhelm the Warsak Dam,one of the country's biggest dams.

The rising water levels prompted disaster officials to ask residents in the northern outskirts of Peshawar city to leave their homes.

"If needed, forced evacuation will be started," said Adnan Khan, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Authority of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province.