The International Red Cross has said up to two-and-a-half million people have been affected by devastating floods in North West Pakistan. Rescuers are struggling to reach 27,000 people still cut off by the floods, which are the worst in 80 years. At least 1,100 people have died and thousands have lost everything. There are fears diarrhoea and cholera will spread among the homeless. Food is scarce and water supplies have been contaminated by the floods.Muddy brown waters have submerged fields, bridges and roads, destroying crops and devastating communities. The Pakistani military says it has committed 30,000 troops and dozens of helicopters to the relief effort, but winching individuals to safety is a slow process. A spokesman for the UK-based charity Save the Children said that the infrastructure damage in Swat may be worse than in the earthquake which devastated the region in 2005.

The International Red Cross has said up to two-and-a-half million people have been affected by devastating floods in North West Pakistan. Rescuers are struggling to reach 27,000 people still cut off by the floods, which are the worst in 80 years. At least 1,100 people have died and thousands have lost everything. There are fears diarrhoea and cholera will spread among the homeless. Food is scarce and water supplies have been contaminated by the floods.Muddy brown waters have submerged fields, bridges and roads, destroying crops and devastating communities. The Pakistani military says it has committed 30,000 troops and dozens of helicopters to the relief effort, but winching individuals to safety is a slow process. A spokesman for the UK-based charity Save the Children said that the infrastructure damage in Swat may be worse than in the earthquake which devastated the region in 2005.