2 December 2010 Last updated at 03:50 ET

Families brace for harsh winterHotel destroyed by flooding in Swat

The BBC's Jill McGivering says that the onset of winter and a shortage of food have combined to make life tough for the residents of Utror in northern Pakistan.


Shafiq-ur Rehman at his stallDisaster sends food prices soaring

The floods have pushed food prices dramatically higher, and are driving a hungry population closer to despair.

The hospital at KaroraPakistan's cycle of natural disasters

The damage caused by the floods could be far worse than the destruction caused by the 2005 earthquake.

In pictures


  • Young girl. Photo: Omar AhsanYour pictures

    Remote mountain villages in Shangla district cut off by flooding


Features

Key facts

  • Heavy monsoon rains in north west Pakistan have caused rivers to burst their banks

  • At least 1,600 people are believed to have been killed and entire villages have been swept away

  • Some 20 million people have been affected and 6 million are in urgent need of food aid, according to the UN

  • Around $460m is required for immediate needs, around $275m has been donated so far

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