Pakistan reopens key highway to speed aid to flood victims

Pakistani engineers and troops cleared a key highway Thursday that will enable aid workers to speed supplies to survivors of devastating floods that have left thousands homeless and killed 1,486 people.
Traffic between the flood-hit city of Quetta and southern Sindh province remained suspended for weeks after floods damaged the key highway. The blockage had forced the military to deliver aid to victims by helicopters and boats.
As they reopened the route, engineers in flood-hit Baluchistan provinces also restored the power supply for millions, according to a government statement.
And the disaster’s deady toll became more clear. On Thursday, the United Nations’ children agency said 528 children were among those killed in the floods.
The National Flood Response and Coordination Centre said the worst-ever deluge destroyed 390 bridges and washed away over 12,000 kilometers of roads across the country. The inundation of roads affected the government’s response to floods, and people complained they were still waiting for the government’s help.