Floods in Pakistan: Men walk 20 miles from divided town to feed their stranded families | World News

The journey north into the Swat Valley in Pakistan is a lesson in how overwhelming a natural disaster like this can be.

Entire villages were swept away, towns were split in half, a hydroelectric power station was flooded and destroyed, bridges and roads were destroyed.

Like other disasters, although these devastating rains have stopped now, the disaster and its consequences are not yet.

More than a week has passed, the suffering of the survivors is increasing day by day.

Aid is desperately needed and donors have good intentions, but the chaos caused by its arrival can be unsettling.

Crowds of men wait for relief trucks to arrive at special distribution points.

Without police control, we would have seen hundreds of men overwhelm one of these trucks.

Ignoring the delivery people, thick hoses in their hands, they climbed onto the train, taking whatever and everything inside.

A little further north, we enter the town of Bahrain, a major tourist attraction on the banks of the Swat River.

Now it is divided in two; A stream of water overflowed the center of town, with its main bridge washed away.

The southern part of town remains connected to the rest of the Swat Valley, so there is a food supply.

People bravely overcome rickety planks on fast-moving water

Everything to the north is cut off.

Across the sea, they built rickety makeshift bridges – one no more than a plank wide – and more precariously, cable carts strung across the flood-created ravine with ropes.

The people who live here cross the fast currents, transporting supplies to homes that have been left untouched by the floods.

All homes and businesses on the old river front have either been washed away or severely damaged.

For many people living here, life is difficult but manageable.

Imran Khan, 30, whose family owns a hotel, said he found higher ground before the town center was affected, and he and many others were shocked by the ferocity of the land. country.

“It was very dangerous, we were scared when it came and flowed, it was a huge amount of water,” he said.

He added that people are becoming anxious and angry because aid is taking so long to flow in.

“People had a power cut because the bridge was swept away by the flood. homes, shelters, etc., that would be good for us a bit…”

200,000 trapped in a remote town

Bahrain is important because it is now Swat’s northern gateway to the large town of Kalam and villages beyond.

Up to 200,000 people were trapped there and they were completely cut off.

As we were filming, we noticed men carrying heavy-looking sacks, hundreds of them all going in one direction, most alone, some with their families.

Climb the rocks and move fast, determined but exhausted.

People explained to us that the men had come from the Kalam Valley and beyond on foot.

Spanning alpine passes and treacherous trails, their journey takes between six and nine hours each as it’s 36 kilometers (22 miles) to the valley.

They simply have no choice but to undertake this grueling journey as they all have families at home, waiting for their food.

Pakistani Army helicopters are trying to drop aid into the valley, but with 200,000 people in need, all they can provide is a drop of seawater.

The journey north began at a wooden plank bridge that lay groaning under the weight of the men as they crossed.

At either end, the managers tried to control the flow for fear the bridge would collapse.

‘It’s a very challenging hike, you have to climb the hilltops and through the mountains’

We meet Khalid, a red cap that shields his face from the blazing sun, carrying lentils, flour, oil and other food supplies, in a large backpack.

He is looking to his wife and children, mother and father.

“We plan to go another 36 kilometers to the Kalam Valley… it will take me at least six hours,” he explained, wiping sweat from his face.

“It was a very difficult walk, you can see I was sweating, I was carrying a heavy load like this and the path was not good, it was a very difficult walk because you have to climb. hilltops and over mountains.”

The devastation in Bahrain has been considerable, many buildings have been washed away, but even those that are still standing should probably be condemned.

They stood precariously above the floodwaters but most were submerged up to three stories high and all had foundation damage when the water swept over them.

On the newly deposited rocks and the huge boulders that pierce the town, the women wash and dry them.

The 100 year old couple have never seen anything like this

In a building, the front of which is broken, Shamshaya is surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is 105 years old, old and weak, but has an inner strength.

She’s seen a lot through her long life in the Swat Valley, but says life here has changed – and not necessarily for the good.

“The weather has changed, in the past the climate was good, the people were happy even though life was simple, now there is more infrastructure but everything has changed, the weather has changed everything,” she said. her hand clutches her blue prayer beads.

Shamshaya’s husband, centenarian Chari Gul, added: “This was a disaster, the flood destroyed everything.

“I am 115 to 120 years old, but I have never seen a flood like this in my life.

“They’re cutting down the forest, that’s why the weather is changing – and now we have more rain, and the weather is warming up.”

The real priority here right now is to divert the river, build bridges, and repair the northbound roads as almost everything outside of this town is destroyed.

The diggers lifted the rocks and dropped them into the water, trying to create barriers to the flow; Time is really of the essence if people are going north for relief.

No one can doubt faith and determination in Pakistan, but this is overwhelming and they desperately need help.