Landslides create more refugees: UN

PAKISTAN: Landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rains are creating thousands of new refugees in parts of Pakistan that were devastated by last October's earthquake, the UN refugee agency warned.

More than 6,000 quake survivors have fled dangerous areas and nearly 20,000 more are set to seek refuge in camps, said Kilian Kleinschmidt, the agency's senior emergency coordinator for the South Asia earthquake.

"The likelihood of larger displacement due to the ongoing monsoon is very grave," Kleinschmidt told AFP in an interview late Thursday.

"It is very big and we have already seen more than 6,000 newcomers into camps over the last three weeks" in the Pakistani Kashmir towns of Bagh, Garhi Habibullah and Muzaffarabad, he said.

"Currently there are 32,000 people in organised camps and we estimate up to 50,000 by the end of the monsoon."

Donors and aid agencies are meeting to prepare for the feared second wave of refugees, Kleinschmidt said. Pakistani officials confirmed that 6,615 quake survivors had been moved from 23 villages in areas threatened by landslides.

The UN official's warning came as 15 earthquake survivors including eight children were killed by landslides and floods in northwest Pakistan on Thursday. Another 12 died last week.

Islamabad, Friday, AFP