LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Relief workers in Pakistan say the new heavy rainfall has worsened the situation. Flooding has killed more than 1,600 people and affected 15 million others.

The floods have destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and washed away roads, bridges, crops and livestock. 

In addition, the new rainfall has hampered relief efforts in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Floods have also spread to the agriculture heartland of Punjab, and further south along the Indus River into Sindh province.

At least 28 people were killed in landslides In the northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan, but officials said up to 40 people were feared dead.

Pakistan's army is leading the relief efforts, but bad weather is hindering helicopter flights carrying aid to victims still trapped in remote areas.

The United Nations says Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from its worst floods in history.

For the time being, shelter for the millions of victims is the biggest and most urgent concern.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani visited the flood-hit areas of Sindh province over the weekend and appealed for more international aid.

He says the crisis has spiraled beyond the government's capacity, adding the country has been set back many years because of the devastation.

The World Health Organization warned that without access to safe water, Pakistanis are at high risk of contracting water-borne diseases such as diarrhea and cholera.