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WORLD NEWS Diaranson 7 september 2022

In flood-stricken Pakistan, rains damage archeological site

(AP) — In flood-stricken tions continued Tuesday
Pakistan where an un- with troops and volunteers
precedented monsoon using helicopters and boats to
season has killed hun- get those stranded out of the
dreds of people, the rains flooded areas and to nearest
now threaten a famed relief camps. Tens of thou-
archeological site dating sands of people are already
back 4,500 years, the site's living in such camps, and
chief official said Tuesday. thousands more have taken
shelter on roadsides on high-
The ruins of Mohenjo Daro er ground.
— located in southern Sindh Prime Minister Shahbaz
province near the Indus Riv- Sharif urged Pakistanis in
er and a UNESCO World televised remarks Tuesday to
Heritage Site — are con- generously donate to flood
sidered among the best pre- victims, most of whom are
served urban settlements in relying on government help
South Asia. They were dis- to survive. Sharif has also
covered in 1922 and to this repeatedly asked the inter-
day, mystery surrounds the national community to send
disappearance of its civiliza- more aid to the flood victims.
tion, which coincided with He insisted that Pakistan is
those of ancient Egypt and facing a climate-change-in-
Mesopotamia. The flooding has not directly dhist stupa" — a large hemi- made a second cut into an duced tragedy.
hit Mohenjo Daro but the spherical structure associated embankment at Lake Man-
The swelling waters of the In- record-breaking rains have with worship, meditation char, Pakistan's largest fresh- In a statement Tuesday, the
dus, a major river in this part inflicted damage on the ruins and burial — remains intact, water lake, to release rising U.N. refugee agency said it
of the world, have wreaked of the ancient city, said Ahsan Abbasi said. But the down- waters in hopes of saving the handed over thousands of
havoc as heavy rains and mas- Abbasi, the site's curator. pour has damaged some out- nearby city of Sehwan from tents and other emergency
sive flooding unleashed dev- er walls and also some larger major flooding. items to the Sindh govern-
astation across much of Paki- He said dozens of construc- walls separating individual ment, meant for those affect-
stan. At least 1,343 people tion workers under the su- rooms or chambers. The water from the lake has ed by the flooded areas in the
have been killed and millions pervision of archaeologists already inundated dozens province.
have lost their homes in the have started the repair work. Though the floods have of nearby villages, forcing
surging waters, with many Abbasi did not give an esti- touched all of Pakistan, the hundreds of families to leave According to Pakistani offi-
experts blaming the unusu- mated cost of the damages at Sindh province has been their mudbrick homes in a cials, Guterres will travel to
ally heavy monsoon rains on Mohenjo Daro. among the worst hit. hurry, many fleeing in panic. Sindh but it's unclear wheth-
climate change. er he will visit the archaeo-
The site's landmark "Bud- On Monday, army engineers Meanwhile, rescue opera- logical site.

Typhoon batters S. Korea, preparations minimize casualties

(AP) — The most power-
ful typhoon to hit South
Korea in years killed at
least six people, dumped a
meter (3 feet) of rain, de-
stroyed roads and felled
power lines on Tuesday.
The death toll could have
been higher if not for pro-
active evacuations and
school closures, officials
said.

There was also greater public sula and Japan. on roads like garbage. An en-
awareness about the storm tire two-story pool villa was
and its risks. Typhoon Hin- South Korea's weather agen- uprooted from the ground
namnor made impact just cy said Hinnamnor was over and swept away by flash
weeks after heavy rain around the open sea 400 kilometers floods. Troops were deployed
the capital, Seoul, caused (248 miles) northwest of the to assist with rescue and res-
flooding that killed at least 14 northern Japanese city of toration efforts, moving in
people. Sapporo as of 9 p.m. and had armored vehicles through
weakened to a tropical storm. streets turned into chocolate-
Government officials put the colored rivers.
nation on high alert for days However, the damage was
as Hinnamnor approached, still severe in the southern Firefighters navigated flood-
warning of potentially histor- city of Pohang, where five ed neighborhoods in rub-
ic destruction and putting in people were found dead ber boats, rescuing people
motion life-saving measures. and at least five others were and their pets. Merchants
missing after the storm sub- scrambled to salvage furni-
After grazing the resort is- merged roads and build- ture and other belongings at
land of Jeju and hitting the ings, triggered landslides and the famous Guryongpo out-
mainland near the port city flooded a shopping mall. door market, where workers
of Busan, Hinnamnor weak- deployed excavators to clear
ened as it blew into waters Cars with smashed windows huge piles of debris.
between the Korean Penin- and trunks open lay scattered