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Massive floods in Pakistan (16 images)

Flooding brought on by heavy rains in Pakistan is creating a humanitarian and national disaster not seen in generations, a U.N. official said.

Heavy monsoon rains are soaking parts of Asia, triggering massive floods throughout the region. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 1,600 people have died and another 6 million are in need of emergency assistance.

Pakistani authorities said around 2.6 million acres -- around 4,000 square miles -- of crop land are under water and more than 300,000 homes were destroyed.

"Thousands of villages and towns in low-lying areas have not seen flooding on this scale in generations," Andrej Mahecic, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, was quoted by the United Nations as saying.

OCHA said it received more than $44 million for flood relief, with another $91 million pledged. The U.S. Agency for International Development said it was committing another $20 million in financial assistance.

"Our response is consistent with our humanitarian values and our deep commitment to Pakistan," a statement from the U.S. State Department read.

Heavy rain and flooding have cut parts of Pakistan off from the rest of the country, though U.N. agencies said weather conditions have improved.



A home is surround by flood waters near the Muzaffargarh district in Punjab, Pakistan on August 10, 2010. An estimated 13 million Pakistanis have been affected by the worst floods in the country's history. UPI/Sajjad Ali Qureshi
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A U.S. Army Chinook helicopter flies over the flood affected area in Pakistan on a return flight from delivering humanitarian assistance and evacuating personnel to the town of Khwazakhela, as part of the flood recovery effort in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan on August 11, 2010. UPI/Horace Murray/U.S. Army
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These images acquired by the nadir (vertical-viewing) camera on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft show flood affected areas of Pakistan before the flood on August 8, 2009 on the left, and after on August 11, 2010. These false-color views display the near-infrared, red and green bands of the instrument as red-green-blue. This distinctly highlights the contrast between the water and vegetation on the river banks, because vegetation appears bright in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The region of southern Pakistan shown here includes the Sindh Province. The Indus River can be seen snaking across the image from lower left to upper right. The feature near the bottom and left of center is Manchhar Lake. Water is apparent in shades of blue and cyan, though sediment content can add a tan color, as in the upper right. Clouds appear white. UPI/NASA
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A young girl sits near her home with some of her family's belongings after recent heavy flooding in Nowshera, northwestern Pakistan, on August 2, 2010. Rescue workers and troops in northwest Pakistan struggled to reach thousands of people affected by the country's worst floods since 1929. UPI/Sajjad Ali Qurseshi
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