srinagar, you can reach only through the plains. no road connectivity, no railway connectivity. it's been cut from the other areas. the water on these rods slosh all around. people are trying to reach their dear and near ones. so the problem is i met a lot of people who were trying to meet -- i met a guy yesterday who was trying to look for his sister for the last three days. there are unconfirmed reports that the children have died in a hospital, several of them, though i talked to the minister, he says he is not very sure about this, but he can't also deny it. >> he is in srinagar explaining what a desperate situation people are facing there as the flooding seems to be continuing there. >>> let's remind you of our top story today on "bbc world news." it is about the south african athlete oscar pistorius. he has been found guilty of culpable homicide, also known as manslaughter, for shooting his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. the judge said the athlete had acted negligently when he used his gun, but said she cleared him of murder, say

the center of srinagar, after its worst flood in memory.ome camming it kashmir's katrina. and the government is totally overwhelmed. we found a way in on foot as the waters begin to recede. it's just incredible the devastation around here. this whole road has been completely washed away. and up ahead, i'm hearing things are even worse. this was once a better off neighborhood. many have lost everything, and mohamed dar says he feels abandoned by the government. >> translator: we made a makeshift bridge ourselves and we have been trying to drain the water out. nobody came to help us. you're the first person from outside we have seen here. >> reporter: the center of srinagar has been utterly destroyed by this flood. everywhere we go, we find buildings flattened, roads washed away. but what's most striking about this disaster is the amount of anger there is. and increasingly, that's becoming a backlash against the authorities. after decades of strife between kashmir's muslim majority and the government, the flood has brought old resentments bac

residents in the main city of srinagar waded through flooding streets over the weekend with cattle andongings, waiting to be rescued. >> from the second half of yesterday we started focussing over the srinagar city where the water level has been continuously rising and it has risen up to a considerable level, almost up to the second floor, and people are stranded on rooftops. >> woodruff: the disaster has put tensions between the two countries on hold, at least temporarily. the indian and pakistani prime ministers offered sunday to assist each other in relief efforts. widespread thunderstorms from the remnants of hurricane norbert sparked flash flooding in parts of arizona this morning. in phoenix, a record breaking three inches of rain fell by daybreak. wreaking havoc on the morning commute. portions of major interstates were closed and dozens of vehicles lay stalled in window- high water. the storm also triggered flooding in southern california over the weekend. on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 26 points to close at 17,111; the nasdaq rose nine point

hundreds of villages in kashmir remain submerged, including the city of srinagar.fficials i've spoken with say that some of the flooding is as high as 15 feet. so entire houses are submerged. thousands of people have been stranded. they're trying to find the highest point they can to seek refuge. their roofs, neighbors' roofs. anything. they have been able to manage thousands of people by boat and helicopter, but this is a massive undertakinundertaking. most roads are under water. the airport is functioning, but it's very hard to get there. phone lines are down. we haven't been able to get in touch with people there. on their own, the people of kashmir haven't been able to do much. the death toll is likely to increase. it's a similar story in pakistan. thousands of people stranded. it's a very hilly region, so naturally, there are valleys quite low lying, and given the rains of the last week, the very heavy monsoon rains and the flooding of some of the main rivers in that part of the region, this is looking quite bad. >> it sounds like, especially as we watch these

remember, there are no phone lines working in all of sr srinagar.only way to save many of these people is on boats. and of course the army has deployed helicopters as and where it can. reports of what we're hearing is that the flooding is now 15 to 18 feet high. and the army is trying to do everything it can, but as you can see, the infrastructure there quite difficult and hampering all of the rescue efforts. now john, on the other side of the border in pakistan, it is very much a similar story. the rains have continued to some extent over the last few days. but mostly what we're looking at is heavy flooding, overflooding from the main rivers in that region, john. so the rescue efforts continue on both sides of the border, but we're looking at a very, very desperate and difficult time ahead for the people of india and pakistan on both sides of the border in kashmir. >> thank you for the update. our new delhi bureau chief there live with what is really quite a desperate situation not just in pakistan, but much of the region, because the floodwaters c

the city of srinagar, on the indian side of kashmir, is already largely under water.have killed more than 450 people. >> woodruff: top officials in and out of britain's government spent this day appealing to scottish voters to stay in the united kingdom. polls now suggest the yes vote, for independence, may carry the day in next week's referendum. gary gibbon, of independent television news, reports. >> monday fellow party leaders, needed to abandoned everything and get to scotland today. they also agreed on the message, odon't break up the u.k. family. everyone will be heart broken if this family of nations was torn apart. and these ties of family, these ties of friendship are not just ties for me but for people right across the united kingdom. >> they're a really important issue at stake. it's the future of the family of nations that makes up the united kingdom. >> panicked products of another country. >> they're concerned that this last ditch effort seems to be for their own jobs, that is the contrast between team scotland and the narrow focus of team westminster.