Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Pakistan flooding kills hundreds

Updated at 9:58 am on 31 July 2010

Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed 325 people in north-west Pakistan and at least 60 people in Afghanistan.

Rivers have burst their banks and entire villages of mudbrick houses have been destroyed, the BBC reports.

Hundreds are believed to have drowned; others have been crushed by collapsing buildings or electrocuted.

TV channels have broadcast footage of vehicles, livestock and people being swept away by powerful torrents.

The floods are the worst for more than 80 years, officials say, and more heavy rain is forecast across much of Pakistan for at least another day.

Airline officials say the weather probably contributed to the plane crash in Islamabad on Wednesday in which more than 150 people died.

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