Lahore, Pakistan, Sep 5, 2010 / 16:42 pm
In the wake of massive floods affecting hundreds of thousands of people, the Catholic Bishop of Hyderabad has warned of a deepening crisis. Poor nutrition and a lack of clean water mean a cholera epidemic is “imminent,” while the destitute could face starvation in a time of “skyrocketing” inflation.
Writing in an aid application to the international pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Max Rodrigues described the aftermath of the floods and recounted an effort to travel to the worst-affected regions to provide basic help.
“On the way we saw many villages and vast areas submerged and people who had fled from the floods sitting on higher grounds along the main highway without food and shelter, waiting for some help to arrive.”
The numbers of people migrating, he reported, have “never (been) seen in our history before.”