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Islamabad: Recent
floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southern Pakistan have
killed nearly 300 people and affected 6 million more, according to
the latest figures released by the country's National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA) Saturday.
The floods caused damage to an area of 7.987 million acres and
swept away standing crops in the whole affected areas, said NDMA,
reported Xinhua.
According to NDMA, floods have affected all the 23 districts of
Sindh province and completely damaged a total of 539,899 houses
while another 848,412 houses have suffered partial damage.
More than 80,000 livestock have been washed away by flood waters
in Sindh while cotton, banana, dates, chili and sugarcane on
2,800,000 acres of land have been destroyed or affected. About
31,960 villages have been badly affected by the floods.
The first spell of rain that started on Aug 11 mainly affected 7
districts of Sindh province while an ongoing second spell has hit
the entire province including Karachi.
An estimated 415,195 people are presently living in some 2,656
makeshift relief camps including schools and public buildings
across Sindh, said NDMA.
Some 5.74 million people in different districts of the province
have been affected by the floods and thousands of them are camped
out on higher ground or on roadsides.
Pakistan Army has been busy in rescue and relief operation and so
far rescued more than 100,000 marooned people along with their
cattle from various water inundated areas.
Pakistan Navy teams are also busy in rescue work in the flood
affected areas and evacuated 11,000 victims.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, who had canceled his visit
to the United States due to the floods, started visit to the
flood-hit Sindh province. Officials briefed him about the losses.
In response to the appeal from President Asif Ali Zardari, China
has announced that it will supply relief goods worth $4.7 million
for Pakistan's flood victims. Iran has announced $100 million aid
for the rehabilitation of the rain-affected people of Sindh. Japan
has announced emergency relief goods worth $450,000. The relief
goods include tents, water purifiers and medicines.
South Korea has decided to provide emergency assistance worth
$200,000 in relief goods. The European Commission announced that
10 million euros would be provided in emergency relief. Donations
by German people for the flood victims in Pakistan have increased
to over $210 million. The Red Cross Society of China has donated
$50,000 in cash as an emergency aid to Pakistan.
The UN-led humanitarian community in Pakistan is seeking $337
million from donor countries for an emergency response plan to
support the government in addressing the needs of flood-affected
families in Sindh.
The United States is sending food aid for nearly 350,000 people
and medical assistance for about 500,000 people. UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon formally called on the international community
to help Pakistan. A team of UN agencies is currently visiting the
affected areas for a needs assessment.
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