They're calling it the largest natural disaster on record, destroying homes, land, crops and water supplies, and yet the coverage in the U.S. media has been relatively low-key. Sadly, now it looks like things will be getting even worse:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan issued new flood warnings on Thursday that could last into the weekend as government and relief agencies strained to confront the toll from a growing humanitarian disaster.

The new warnings to several cities in Punjab and Sindh Provinces added to the desperation of many across the country facing a daily struggle for survival as Muslims around the world began to observe the holy month of Ramadan.

[...] The United States Embassy in Islamabad announced that two Marine helicopters had arrived in the country, the first of a contingent of 19 American military helicopters that has been ordered to assist the Pakistani government in relief efforts. The United States has pledged $71 million for flood relief, and American officials have called for more.

“Americans have been very focused on other, equally heart-wrenching issues, like Haiti,” Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Wednesday at the Council on Foreign Relations. “I hope they will turn their attention as well to this extraordinary crisis that Pakistan is facing.”

The aid deliveries could help the United States improve its image here and blunt a growing anti-American sentiment. The Taliban have already urged Pakistanis to shun American aid and have used the crisis to expand their influence and outreach in the flood-affected areas of the northwest.

The United Nations has estimated that at least one-fifth of the country is flooded, but the scope of the damage seems far greater. About 14 million people have been affected by the floods, and 6 million of them are children, according to Unicef. Estimates of the dead have ranged from 1,200 to 1,600.

It's a little (pardon the pun) depressing to read that our economic policy in the face of this "balance sheet recession" is exactly the wrong one. Japanese economist Richard Koo has been sounding the alarm for a while, citing Japan's economic collapse after following the International Monetary Fund's advice to cut their deficit:

Hearing comparisons between the US and Japan? Confused about deleveraging, private saving, and government spending? Look no further – Richard C. Koo explains it all in his testimony before the Committee on Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives.

The first point Koo makes is that ordinary recessions – which tend to come up every so often – and full-fledged depressions are “two different diseases requiring totally different treatments.”

What’s the difference? In a depression, the private sector is focused solely on getting rid of debt. Who cares? Just take an example: a family makes $1000 and saves $100. Normally that $100 is lent by the family’s bank to a borrower who can invest and use that money. But in today’s world, where everyone is trying to get rid of debt, no one wants to borrow that $100.

This is just what happened during the Great Depression, and also what happened to Japan in the 1990s. But Japan was smart: the government borrowed and spent $100 instead, keeping the money flowing. Even though it increased the government’s debt by 460 trillion yen, it sustained over 2,000 trillion yen – “making it a huge bargain,” the understated Koo points out. On the other hand, cutting spending and government deficits will have the opposite, devastating effect.

His testimony is here and it's the clearest argument yet for the administration to stop pushing this deficit nonsense.