2 August 2010 Last updated at 13:03 GMT
The US government has been dropping food parcels by air
Rescuers in Pakistan are struggling to reach 27,000 people still stranded by the worst floods in 80 years.
At least 1,100 people have died and, with entire communities devastated, it is now estimated that more than 1.5 million people desperately need help.
There are fears diarrhoea and cholera will spread among the homeless. Food and drinking water are in short supply.
The UN, China and US have already pledged aid for the rescue effort.
The Pakistani military says it has committed 30,000 troops and dozens of helicopters to the relief effort, but winching individuals to safety is a slow process.
The army - which says it has rescued 28,000 people in recent days - predicts the initial search and rescue operation will take up to 10 days, says the BBC's Orla Guerin, who has been on board a military helicopter over the Swat Valley.
But the army says rebuilding the damaged areas could take 6 months or more.In one area of the north-western region, there is a 70km (45-mile) no-go zone where 29 bridges have been destroyed, the army says, adding that some communities have been turned into islands.
There have been complaints from some survivors that the government response has been slow and inadequate.
Floodwaters receded in some areas as weather conditions improved on Monday but more rain is now forecast.
Part of the main north-south motorway into the region was reopened on Sunday, before reportedly closing again. The brief opening allowed some aid supplies into the flooded area while also permitting people to flee.
Officials in Islamabad fear that once access to affected areas improves, the full picture will show that the situation is much worse than is so far known, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in the capital.
The rain may have stopped for the time being but huge swathes of north-west Pakistan remain submerged, with many of those affected still stranded and waiting for help.Many have lost all their belongings and have no means of getting food. Clean water supplies have been contaminated by the floods, raising serious concerns about the spread of disease.
The information minister of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly North West Frontier Province) - one of the worst-hit provinces - said 1.5 million people had been affected by the floods and landslides.
"We are receiving information about the loss of life and property caused by the floods all over the province," Mian Iftikhar Hussain told the AFP news agency.
The province's disaster management authority earlier said an aerial survey showed dozens of villages had been simply washed away.
Mr Hussain said rescue teams were trying to reach the 27,000 people stranded by the floods in the province, including 1,500 tourists in the Swat district, the scene of a major military offensive against the Taliban last year.
"We are also getting confirmation of reports about an outbreak of cholera in some areas of Swat," he added.
'Government 'not helping'
The government's response to the disaster drew a protest of several hundred people in the north-western city of Peshawar, where homeless survivors crammed into temporary shelters overnight.
Will there be more heavy rain for for devastated areas of Pakistan?
"The government is not helping us," said 53-year-old labourer Ejaz Khan, whose house on the city's outskirts was swept away by the floods.
"The school building where I sheltered is packed with people, with no adequate arrangement for food and medicine," he told AFP news agency.
There is a desperate need for temporary shelter, clean drinking water and toilets to avert a public health catastrophe”
End Quote Jane Cocking OxfamShariyar Khan Bangash, the regional programme manager for the aid organisation World Vision, based in Peshawar, said survivors of the worst-affected areas were pleading for clean drinking water to be delivered.
"These people were saying: 'We don't need food at this time but we need drinking water.' All the wells which are providing water for them are full of mud and you cannot use those wells," he told the BBC.
"Among the children the diarrhoea has started already, and cholera. That's the main risk at this time. Food shortages are already there."
The humanitarian director of Oxfam, Jane Cocking, said the extent of this crisis was only slowly emerging.
"The more villages that are reached the grimmer the picture becomes," she said as the organisation launched an appeal for aid.
"There is a desperate need for temporary shelter, clean drinking water and toilets to avert a public health catastrophe. People also need medical care and basic food items."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply saddened by the significant loss of lives, livelihoods and infrastructure in Pakistan", and offered an extra $10m (£6.5m) in aid for the relief effort.
Earlier, the US promised the government $10m in aid. It also provided about 50,000 meals, four rescue boats and two water-filtration units.
The US embassy in Islamabad said Washington would also be providing 12 temporary bridges to replace some of those destroyed by the floods.
As well as the more 1,000 deaths in Pakistan, at least 60 people have died across the border in Afghanistan, where floods have affected four provinces.
At the scene
From the air we've had a clear view of the destructive force of the monsoon rains.Muddy brown waters have submerged fields, bridges and roads, destroying crops and devastating communities.In some areas we've seen people wading, chest-deep, through the floods. In others, only the tops of trees have been visible.We went to the city of Nowshera, one of the worst affected areas, where we saw several lakes - including one which covered the polo ground. Mud and rubble lined the streets.We met people at a temporary camp who said they were being helped by the army, but they were worried about the future.
Will there be more heavy rain for for devastated areas of Pakistan?
"The government is not helping us," said 53-year-old labourer Ejaz Khan, whose house on the city's outskirts was swept away by the floods.
"The school building where I sheltered is packed with people, with no adequate arrangement for food and medicine," he told AFP news agency.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Jane Cocking OxfamThere is a desperate need for temporary shelter, clean drinking water and toilets to avert a public health catastrophe”
Shariyar Khan Bangash, the regional programme manager for the aid organisation World Vision, based in Peshawar, said survivors of the worst-affected areas were pleading for clean drinking water to be delivered.
"These people were saying: 'We don't need food at this time but we need drinking water.' All the wells which are providing water for them are full of mud and you cannot use those wells," he told the BBC.
"Among the children the diarrhoea has started already, and cholera. That's the main risk at this time. Food shortages are already there."
The humanitarian director of Oxfam, Jane Cocking, said the extent of this crisis was only slowly emerging."The more villages that are reached the grimmer the picture becomes," she said as the organisation launched an appeal for aid.
"There is a desperate need for temporary shelter, clean drinking water and toilets to avert a public health catastrophe. People also need medical care and basic food items."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply saddened by the significant loss of lives, livelihoods and infrastructure in Pakistan", and offered an extra $10m (£6.5m) in aid for the relief effort.
Earlier, the US promised the government $10m in aid. It also provided about 50,000 meals, four rescue boats and two water-filtration units.
The US embassy in Islamabad said Washington would also be providing 12 temporary bridges to replace some of those destroyed by the floods.As well as the more 1,000 deaths in Pakistan, at least 60 people have died across the border in Afghanistan, where floods have affected four provinces.
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