Pakistani FM says water receded 50% in flood-ravaged Sindh

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s foreign minister says about 50% of the water has receded in the country’s worst flood-hit province. Thursday’s remarks by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raised hopes that many Sindh province farmers after losing cotton and other crops in this summer’s flooding will now be able to sow wheat in a step toward returning to a normal life. It was the first time that any Pakistani official confirmed the draining of 50% of water in Sindh, where about 400, 000 people are living in relief camps. The flooding in Pakistan wiped out the personal grain stores that many farming families rely on for food yearlong. The record-breaking flooding, blamed in part on climate change, killed nearly 1,700 people and overall wreaked damage estimated to at least $30 billion.