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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Severe flooding in Pakistan

Between April 20 and July 15, 2010, a generally accepted estimate of nearly 5 million barrels (200 million gallons) of crude oil emerged from the wellhead drilled into the seafloor by BP from the now-destroyed Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Now that the flow of oil has been stopped, the impact of all the spilled oil and natural gas is still being measured. The current moratorium on deep water remains in place as reports from varying scientific groups are at odds about the extent of the remaining oil, and some fishing restrictions have already been lifted. As BP finalizes its work in killing the well, here is a collection of photos from around the Gulf of Mexico over the past couple of months, as all of those affected enter the next phase of this event.

1. A boy hangs on to the front of a cargo truck while passing through a flooded road in Risalpur, located in Nowshera District in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province July 30, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
2. Men take refuge on a boat during heavy rain in Pakistan's Nowshera District on July 29, 2010. (REUTERS/K. Parvez)
3. Residents watch water pour through a street on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan on July 28, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
4. Pakistani villagers move to high ground escaping a flood-hit village near Nowshera, Pakistan on Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
5. Nimra, a three-year-old girl, who was rescued along with her family from Kaalam in the northern area, kisses the window glass of an army helicopter after their arrival at Khuazakhela in Swat district located in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province on August 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)
6. Residents watch from a nearby hill as army helicopters rescued trapped residents from Nowshera, Pakistan on July 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
7. Residents stand by flood water that entered a residential area of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan on July 30, 2010. (SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP/Getty Images)
8. An aerial view of a man and his animals surrounded by floodwater in Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan, flooded on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
9. A Pakistani villager struggles to reach his village through a fast-moving flood water caused by heavy monsoon rain in Bakhtiarabad, 250 km (155 mi) north of Quetta, Pakistan on Friday, July 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Fida Hussain)
10. An aerial view shows Nowshera city submerged in flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
11. A Pakistani volunteer uses a small boat to evacuate locals in a flood-hit area of Nowshera on July 30, 2010. (A. MAJEED/AFP/Getty Images)
12. Pakistani flood survivors cross a bridge near a damaged home in Medain, a town of Swat valley on August 2, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
13. Pakistan army soldiers pass a baby across a channel in the floodwater as they help people flee from their flooded village following heavy monsoon rains in Taunsa, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
14. Villagers try to catch trees floating in the flooded Nelum river in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Aftab Ahmed)
15. Residents help a man untie a chicken from his neck after he evacuated his flooded home with the fowl by swimming to higher grounds in Nowshera, Pakistan on August 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
16. A family being rescued by army soldiers passes a cargo truck with men on top taking shelter from heavy floods in Nowshera, Pakistan on July 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
17. A soldier evacuating residents carries a flood victim to a helicopter in Sanawa, Pakistan's on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)
18. A Pakistani boy named Jeeshan stands outside his tent in a camp set up by the Pakistani army inside a college on the outskirts of Nowshera on August 2, 2010. (BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)
19. Pakistani flood survivors line up beside a damaged bridge in Medain, a town of Swat Valley on August 2, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
20. A boy is flung back by the force of a Pakistan Air Force helicopter rotors as it drops water supplies to residents on August 2, 2010 in Nowshera, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
21. Evacuees wade through a flooded area following heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar on Saturday, July 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Saeed Ahmad)
22. People wait to cross a flooded road in Bannu, northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad)
23. A boy walks through flood destroyed homes on August 4, 2010 in Pabbi, near Nowshera, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
24. A family portrait is seen, attached to a bookcase buried in mud on August 4, 2010 in Pabbi, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
25. An aerial view of floodwater covering the land as far as the eye can see, around Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
26. A flood survivor carries a soaked mat in a flooded area of Nowshera on August 3, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
27. A man gathers up some of his belongings outside his flooded house in Nowshera, Pakistan on August 2, 2010. (BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)
28. Pakistani women pray at sunset by the Ravi river in Lahore on August 2, 2010. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
29. A boy sits on a bed as his family members salvage belongings from their destroyed house in Pabbi, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)
30. Flood victims line up to collect relief supplies from the Army in Nowshera, Pakistan on August 2, 2010. Islamist charities, some with suspected ties to militants, stepped in on Monday to provide aid for Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory, piling pressure on a government criticized for its response to the disaster that has so far killed more than 1,000 people. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
31. Flood-affected people jostle for food relief in Nowshera in northwest Pakistan on Friday, Aug. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
32. A Pakistani worker pushes back flood-stricken women who are trying to enter a relief center to get food supplies on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
33. Families set in for the evening in their makeshift tent homes located on a median strip after having abandoned their flood-destroyed homes, on August 3, 2010 in Pabi, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
34. Children, whose families have declined to be rescued, wade in rising flood waters on August 6, 2010 in the village of Panu Akil, near Sukkur, Pakistan. Rescue workers and armed forces continued rescue operations evacuating thousands in Pakistan's heartland province of Sindh. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
35. Residents evacuate to safety in a flood-hit area of Nowshera, Pakistan on July 30, 2010. (A. MAJEED/AFP/Getty Images)
36. Onlookers perched on a damaged bridge watch a flood survivor use a rope to cross the river in Chakdara in Pakistan's Swat Valley on August 3, 2010. (STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)
37. A young flood survivor cools herself with water at a makeshift camp in Nowshera, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)
38. A man tries to cross a makeshift bridge to escape his flooded home in Nowshera, Pakistan on July 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
39. A Pakistan army helicopter evacuates stranded villagers in Nowshera, Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
40. A family takes refuge on top of a mosque while awaiting rescue from flood waters in Sanawa, a town located in the Muzaffar Ghar district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)
41. A woman yells as her child is evacuated from the roof of a mosque where residents were taking refuge from flood waters in Sanawa, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

The United Nations has now estimated that Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from its worst floods in 80 years - further straining a country already dependent on foreign aid to prop up its economy and back its war against Islamist militants. Over 60,000 troops are involved in flood relief operations trying to assist nearly 14 million people who are now affected by the flooding. The U.N. has just launched an appeal for $459 million in immediate aid, as Pakistanis have become more frustrated with their government's response and President Asif Ali Zardari's trip to Europe.


1. A man marooned by flood waters, alongside his livestock, waves towards an Army helicopter for relief handouts in the Rajanpur district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)
2. Pakistani city Mehmud Kot is submerged in floodwater near Multan, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
3. Nadia, who does not know her age, sits alongside siblings after they were rescued from rising floodwaters in Baseera, a village located in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province, August 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
4. Pakistani villagers stand on the remains of a bridge washed away by heavy flooding in Bannu in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad)
5. Pictures taken from US rescue helicopter shows the flooded area of Kallam valley on August 9, 2010. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)
6. A girl floats her brother across flood waters while salvaging valuables from their flood ravaged home on August 7, 2010 in the village of Bux Seelro near Sukkur, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
7. A Pakistani Army soldier rests between air rescue operations on August 9, 2010 in the Muzaffargarh district in Punjab, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
8. Flood victims awaiting rescue wave down a helicopter from a rooftop in Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province August 7, 2010. Pakistanis desperate to get out of flooded villages threw themselves at helicopters on Saturday as more heavy rain was expected to intensify both suffering and anger with the government. The disaster killed more than 1,600 people and disrupted the lives of 12 million. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
9. Pakistani villagers raise hands to get food dropped from an army helicopter at a flood-hit area of Kot Addu, in central Pakistan on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
10. Pakistani flood survivors climb on army helicopter as it distributes food bags in Lal Pir on August 7, 2010. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
11. A man wades through flood waters towards a naval boat while evacuating his children in Sukkur, located in Pakistan's Sindh province August 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)
12. Stranded truck drivers, waiting for their tea, watch lightning strike within developing monsoon clouds over Pakistan's Muzaffargarh district in Punjab province August 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
13. Villagers wade through flood waters with their livestock while looking for higher grounds in Sukkur, Pakistan on August 8, 2010. Pakistani navy boats sped across miles of flood waters on Sunday as the military took a lead role in rescuing survivors from a devastating disaster that has killed 1,600 people and left two million homeless. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)
14. Volunteers of the Falah-e-Insaniyat foundation, the charity wing of Pakistan's anti-American militant group Jamaat-ud-Dawa, run a relief camp for flood-affected people in Nowshera, northwest Pakistan on Aug. 9, 2010. U.S. army choppers flew up the formerly Taliban-controlled valley laden with flour, biscuits and water. They returned loaded with hungry Pakistani flood survivors. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)
15. Residents stand near the path of flowing flood waters the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
16. US Army Staff Sargent Matthew Kingsbury (right) from Bravo Company 2/3 Aviation and Pakistani soldiers sit on the cargo bay ramp of a CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter while looking down at a flooded area while in flight over Pakistan's Swat Valley on August 10, 2010. (BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)
17. An aerial view from a Pakistani army rescue helicopter shows personnel distributing water to flood-affected residents in Ghouspur, some 100 kilometers from Sukkur on on August 9, 2010. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)
18. A Pakistani flood survivor climbs onto an army rescue helicopter in Ghouspur, Pakistan on August 9, 2010. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)
19. A flood victim looks out a window of an Army helicopter after being evacuated from the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
20. A ray of light shines past monsoon clouds as villagers wade through rising floodwaters in Baseera, in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province, August 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
21. A boy waits for food handouts with other flood victims as they take refuge at a makeshift camp in Sukkur, in Pakistan's Sindh province August 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)
22. A man walks through a flooded house in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province August 7, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
23. A man pushes his motorbike through flood waters in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan on August 8, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
24. Newborn twin boys lay covered up in a blanket on the floor of a Pakistani Army helicopter, as mother Zada Perveen (unseen) rests after being rescued by Pakistan Army soldiers during air rescue operations on August 9, 2010 over the village of Sanawan in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan. Of the twin boys, un-named at the time, the first was born 15 minutes before mid-day and the other twin was born as the Army rescue helicopter was circling above to find a safe landing position on a road surrounded by flood waters. The mother was then carried on a makeshift bed through chest deep floodwaters to the awaiting Pakistani Army helicopter. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
25. A Pakistani crosses a canal with the help of cable wire on a damaged bridge, which was washed away by heavy floods in Ghazi Gat in central Pakistan on Monday, Aug. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
26. Pakistani villagers chase after relief supplies dropped from an army helicopter in a heavy flood-hit area of Mithan Kot, in central Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)
27. Pakistani volunteers unload sacks of flour provided by the U.S. government in Kalam in Pakistan's Swat valley on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)
28. An aerial view, from a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter en route to delivering humanitarian assistance supplies, shows the flood-damaged countryside in Ghazi, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Horace Murray/U.S. Army)
29. People hunt a stray wild boar which escaped from a jungle during the heavy floods in Sukkur city, Pakistan, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)
30. A Pakistan police officer use a baton to control flood affected people who are trying to loot donated food from a bus at a roadside in Azakhel near Nowshera, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
31. An aerial view from a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter shows a damaged bridge washed out by the floods in Ghazi, Pakistan August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Horace Murray/U.S. Army)
32. Pakistani flood survivors walk in the flooded area of Baseera village, 60 km south west of Multan, on August 10, 2010. (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
33. A Pakistani flood survivor who lost her home to heavy flooding, cries upon her arrival in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)
34. Flood victims are rescued by boat in Baseera, a village located in the Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province on August 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)
35. Youths affected by floods walk outside the ruins of their home which was washed away by heavy floods in Charsadda, northwest Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
36. Pakistani flood victim Mohammed Nawaz hangs onto a moving raft as he is rescued by the Pakistan Navy August 10, 2010 in Sukkur, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)