Disaster

In Pakistan, 27,000 Still Stranded

Rescuers struggle to reach flood victims.

About 27,000 people are still stranded by the worst floods Pakistan has seen in 80 years, and rescuers are having trouble getting to them. The flooding claimed 1,100 lives and more than 1.5 million people are stuck in dire circumstances as the U.S. begins dropping food packages from planes. Pakistan’s army says its search-and-rescue operation will take as much as 10 days, and many fear that diarrhea and cholera will spread among those left without homes. In the remote northwestern part of the country, some communities have been turned into islands as bridges were washed away. Some villages were completely swept away by the waters. As many as 1,500 tourists are stranded in Swat, the site of a huge military offensive against the Taliban last year.