floods kill hundreds in india, pakistan

SRINAGAR, India (AP)—
Officials said Sunday landslides and flash floods triggered by monsoon rains have killed nearly 300 people in large parts of northern India and Pakistan.
Five days of rain in India
Officials say Kashmir has killed at least 120 people, flooded hundreds of villages and triggered landslides in the region\'s worst floods in more than 50 years.
In neighboring Pakistan, more than 160 people have been killed and thousands of houses have collapsed. An official said the situation is becoming a \"national emergency \".
\"With the flood rising and flooding many villages, rescuers in both countries are using helicopters and boats to try to reach thousands of people trapped at home.
Rescue efforts in Srinagar, the main Indian city of Kashmir, have been quickly hampered
Flooding the flow of floods in most parts of the city.
The rain has stopped on Sunday, but officials say the spilled Jhelum River\'s water travels too fast to get the boats to reach many people trapped in Srinagar.
Omar Abdullah, the supreme elected official in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, said several ships had been deployed by night to begin rescue efforts.
In many communities in Srinagar, the water is about 4 metres (12 feet)
The whole house was flooded.
Trapped residents leave their homes and move to safer areas with friends or relatives.
\"I am in my 80 s and I have never seen such a flood,\" Ghulam Nabi said . \" He passed through the window from his third home in the high-end Rajbagh district of Srinagar
\"If this is the case with my neighbors, I can\'t imagine the destruction of other areas.
\"The flood entered the first floor of the state\'s main maternity hospital, forcing more than 200 patients and waiters to move to the higher floors of the building.
Across Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of police and army rescue workers have been dispatched to help rescue efforts.
On the Windows and the balcony, the worried residents looked at the spinning water and waited for help.
\"The situation is extremely grim,\" said Rohit Kansal, the top civilian official . \".
\"We have no access to many people because the water flows too fast.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi investigated the floods
A helicopter hit the disaster area on Sunday and promised the federal government to help deal with the disaster, what he called a national disaster \".
\"In Indian Kashmir, at least 450 villages were flooded and another 2,000 were affected by the floods,\" the official said.
All schools, colleges and offices have been closed and there is limited supply of electricity and drinking water throughout the state.
Ali Imam Saeed, a senior official in Punjab province in eastern Pakistan, said 103 people died in collapsed houses, floods and electric sentences in Pakistan.
He said more than 5,000 people have been rescued since Thursday. He added that three soldiers were missing during the rescue operation.
Ahmed Kamal, spokesman for Pakistan\'s National Disaster Administration, said 48 people were killed in Pakistan
Since the beginning of the flood, the management of Kashmir and 11 of the neighbouring Gilgit battitan area.
\"Army helicopters and naval vessels are rescuing people and bringing them to safe places from flooded villages in the affected areas of Punjab and Kashmir,\" Kamal said . \".
Floods have hit 286 villages in Punjab province, he said, and several rivers have washed their banks, a crisis that is quickly becoming a \"national emergency \".
\"Naim Mushtaq, 30-year-
The old farmer in the District of Gujranwala said that when the flood flooded their village, he and four others climbed the tree.
He told The Associated Press that they waited on the branches for more than 20 hours before rescuers arrived.
More than 4,000 houses have collapsed across Pakistan, leaving thousands homeless.
The Pakistani armed forces and civilian relief workers have carried out large-scale operations using helicopters and ships to ensure the safety of villagers.
Kamal said 95 relief camps have been set up for those displaced by the floods.
During the monsoon season, Pakistan and India suffer extensive flooding every year, from June to September.
The flash floods in Pakistan killed 1,700 people in 2010.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both countries claim full sovereignty over Kashmir.
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