Massive floods across Pakistan | Thousands Killed

[Aeon]

Pakistan flood damage estimated at $9.7bn
Thursday, 14 Oct, 2010

BRUSSELS: The floods that swept Pakistan since July caused about 9.7 billion dollars in damage, almost double the amount caused by a 2005 earthquake, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank said Thursday.

The estimate was released by the two banks ahead of a key meeting in Brussels on Friday aimed at reviewing Pakistan's relief and recovery efforts.

The Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting gathers 26 countries and institutions.

The estimate covers damage to infrastructure, farms, homes, as well as other direct and indirect losses, said the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

That “is almost double the amount of damage caused by the 2005 Pakistan earthquake,” said Rune Stroem, ADB country director for Pakistan.

In carrying out the assessment, teams from the two banks examined the extent of the damage in 15 key sectors across Pakistan, looking at direct direct damage, indirect losses and reconstruction costs.

The agriculture and livestock sectors were the worst hit, followed by complete or partial damage to a large number of houses.

Roads were “hit hard particularly at the district and village levels, and irrigation facilities have also suffered serious damage,” a statement said.

One-fifth of the country was affected by the floods, with the populous southern Sindh province the worst affected, it added.

 

[Solomon2]

Pakistani Defense Funding in Cross Hairs After Floods

By USMAN ANSARI
Published: 20 September 2010


ISLAMABAD - In the aftermath of the Pakistan floods, some observers say defense spending may be cut to aid reconstruction efforts, but in the end, objections to job losses and security concerns may protect defense budgets.

Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by the military in 1999, has called for cuts in defense spending to aid reconstruction. An ardent foe of the military, he stands accused of corruption and tax evasion. Although the messenger may be dismissed, it is harder to dismiss the message.

Defense spending for 2010-11 grew by 30 percent over a year earlier, but cuts could affect some large-scale programs. Retired Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail said this may have to be the case, but the decision lies with the service chiefs.

"Weak civilian governments are generally reluctant to interfere in the defense spending plans," he said. "We have a precedent in the past where the Army chief postponed indefinitely the building of the new GHQ complex in Islamabad after the earthquake of 2005. Now, the defense forces are again confronted with a situation that is gravely reminiscent of the previous catastrophe, or worse."

Under the circumstances, "there is a need to put a moratorium on all development plans for at least a year. In addition, drastic austerity measures have to be put in place," he said.

Other analysts are unconvinced that calls for defense cuts will gain traction.

South Asia analyst Brian Cloughley said it is "most likely that the population in general will not support defense spending cuts, mainly because the military is held in high regard. Although Sharif is more popular than [President] Asif Zardari, that doesn't say much. Politicians will jump on whatever bandwagon they think is most appealing to the voters, but I don't think interfering with defense would be a popular choice. So the notion is unlikely to gain ground."

Neither did he think that the Army's most high-profile projects, the main battle tank and armored personnel carrier programs, would be affected.

"The Zarrar and Khalid [tank] programs are not exactly 'wealth hazards'. That is one of their attractions," Cloughley said. "And we must remember that they are quite labor intensive - the workers at HIT [Heavy Industries Taxila] wouldn't be enthralled by their jobs being cut. And they're voters, too."

Salma Malik, assistant professor at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, is similarly unconvinced.

"Personally, I feel there will not be any defense cuts because of the possibility of unrest in some areas, especially areas which have been hit by the insurgency," she said. "The problem is far deeper than just flood relief."

She said defense spending may actually be increased. Areas that had been the focus of anti-terrorist operations were also badly affected by flooding, and with the police unlikely to be able to handle any potential unrest, Malik said, the Army would probably have to step in to contain the situation.

The possibility of widespread civil unrest, and the need to carry on relief efforts, may also form opportunities for terrorists, who recently carried out bombings in Lahore and Quetta.

The Army's operational budget is unlikely to be cut, Malik said, and the Air Force's Chinese projects - the JF-17 Thunder, KJ-200 airborne early warning and control and FC-20/J-10 aircraft - are generally safe.

"These are some of the things which are critically required," she said. "The Air Force will not allow them to be affected. At worst, China will probably be more flexible with regards to payment options, which would work very well in Pakistan's favor."

Tufail, however, said he believes there is a case for "renegotiating the F-16C/D Block 52 delivery schedule along with the payment of the remaining tranches," and that the JF-17 program would also "have to be put on a go-slow, instead of the accelerated program currently underway."

Likewise, he said, "any new contracts, especially of costly avionics packages, need to be delayed, as it would be tantamount to mocking the post-flood reconstruction efforts which are expected to run into billions of dollars," he said.

If any service is likely to suffer, it is the Navy. Usman Shabbir of the Pakistani Military Consortium said the Navy's next-generation submarine contest has been decided by default.

"The German submarine deal, I am certain, is now dead after these floods," he said, referring to never-concluded negotiations to purchase the HDW Type-214 that had been selected by the Navy. It had been expected the deal would be signed in 2008 or 2009.

Though a blow to the Navy, he does not think it to be a crippling one.

"China has invested a lot of money and effort into submarine design and development over the past two decades, and even though it is still not the level of European subs, it is inching closer," he said.

A Chinese option already seems to have been selected to make up for the demise of the Pakistan-Turkish corvette program. The Pakistan-specific design, based on elements of the Turkish Milgem F-100/Ada (Island)-class corvette, was presented to the Navy in 2008 and a contract expected to be signed in 2009.

At best, it has been postponed, but considering the marked reluctance of officials in both countries to comment on its status, it has most likely been quietly buried.

Instead, July saw a decision to build two 500-ton Chinese-designed fast attack craft roughly similar in dimensions and capability to the Greek Navy's Super Vita/Roussen patrol boats.

 

[Aeon]

Seven million still lack shelter after floods: UN
Tuesday, 19 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD: At least seven million people are still without shelter in Pakistan nearly three months after catastrophic floods devastated huge parts of the country, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Torrential monsoon rains began falling in northwestern Pakistan in July, causing floods that moved steadily south, wiping out villages and farmland and affecting an area roughly the size of England.

“At least seven million people are currently without shelter in the flood-affected areas,” UN spokeswoman Stacey Winston told a news conference in Islamabad.

She said that the floods destroyed and damaged over 1.9 million homes.

The United Nations has issued a record two-billion-dollar appeal for funds to cope with the disaster, which UN agencies say affected 21 million people.

Only around 35 per cent of the appeal has already been funded.

Winston estimated that 14 million people were in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, saying that the United Nations distributed food rations among 2.5 million people this month in 39 flood-affected districts. – AFP

 

[Aeon]

UN says 2.2 million hectares of crops lost in Pakistan's floods
Wednesday, 20 Oct, 2010

UNITED NATIONS: An area larger than the Netherlands - 50,000 square kilometers- has been ravaged by the devastating floods in Pakistan, with over 2.2 million hectares of crops lost, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Wednesday.

In giving its latest estimates, OCHA said 20.2 million people have been affected by the floods in Pakistan, with 14 million in need of immediate humanitarian aid.

Over 1.9 million homes have been destroyed or damaged and at least seven million people are currently without shelter, it said. Parts of Sind Province are still under water.

Throughout September and October, food rations have been supplied to an estimated 8.8 million people, according to OCHA. High-energy biscuits and Ready to Use Supplementary Food is being provided for around 2 million children.

Also, since the start of the response, essential medication has been provided to cover the potential health needs of 5.15 million people.

OCHA reports that the emergency shelter needs for an estimated 3.4 million people have been met, while 3.7 million people have access to clean water on a daily basis.

At the same time, the Office says, the Response Plan for Pakistan is still only 36% funded.

Meanwhile, UNICEF reported an increase in polio cases in Pakistan.

Seventy-eight polio cases have been reported among children, which is a 26 per cent increase over 2009 figures. UNICEF says its last immunization campaign in Pakistan reached more than 8.5 million children.

 

[Aeon]

NGOs complain to Gilani about poor relief work
Tuesday, 19 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Representatives of leading national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) complained to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday about lack of coordination and adequate monitoring of relief and rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas.

At an interactive dinner with the prime minister, they called for immediate revival of the local government system and said the worst-hit rural areas were being neglected in the relief and rehabilitation work.

They called for land reforms and more tax on the rich, terming it the only way to help the affected people.

Samina Khan of the Sungi organisation said it was impossible to undertake rehabilitation work at the district and tehsil levels in the absence of local governments and, therefore, the government should take immediate steps to hold their elections.

The prime minister said that 2011 would be the year of local bodies’ elections.

Naeem Mirza of Aurat Foundation said women and children were the most vulnerable among the affected people who needed special attention of the government. He complained of a lack of coordination in relief work.

Sarwar Bari of the Pattan development organisation said that governance was deteriorating and the suffering of affected people would not end without an improvement.

Referring to the poor performance of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, he said: “I doubt things will be much different this time, because on the ground I could see a sheer manifestation of partisanship by political parties.”

Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar rejected the remark about partisanship.

Mr Bari called for taxing the rich more aggressively and for across-the-board land reforms. Over the years, poverty has deepened and an equal distribution of land is the only sustainable way to help the people.

Another NGO representative urged the government to also focus on ecological rehabilitation of the affected areas. He said riverbeds had been massively encroached upon and it should be ensured that no housing, legal or illegal, was built on such places.

In reply to a question, the prime minister said the government was taking austerity measures and around 10 ministries and divisions would be wound up in a few months under the 18th Amendment.

“The government has already given an action plan whereby it will provide Rs100,000 to every affected family for the building of their homes, besides an immediate release of Rs20,000 through Watan cards.”

Those who said the government did not have any plan actually didn’t want to help Pakistan, the prime minister said.

Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said it was not easy to increase tax collection. “When the government talks about tax on big land holdings, my colleagues sitting in parliament oppose it, brokers are against tax on capital gains and people are not willing to pay taxes on their costly houses.”

 

[judith]

It's really a sad news.

 

[Cloakedvessel]

German public donations increase to $110 million for flood relief
ISLAMABAD, Sep 8 (APP)- Donations from the German public for the flood-victims in Pakistan have increased to over $110 million as per latest statistics gathered from various German relief and humanitarian organizations, presently involved in flood relief operations. All major German relief and humanitarian organizations have received substantial funds as a result of an upsurge in donations by the public and the German corporate sector, says a message received from Berlin. Appeals for donations by the German leadership and intensive coverage of the floods by the German media have raised awareness of the catastrophe caused by the floods and the need to contribute funds for the welfare of the flood victims.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - German public donations increase to $110 million for flood relief

Dutch government providing Euro 9.6 million for flood affected areas
ISLAMABAD, Nov 1 (APP)- The Government of the Netherlands has contributed Euro 9.6 million for the flood relief efforts in Pakistan and participating effectively in the relief and rehabilitation projects.This was stated by Ambassador of Netherlands, Joost Reintjes who recently visited flood affected areas in Sindh to see the relief efforts.The ambassador told the flood affected people that the Dutch public has raised more than Euro 25 million for emergency aid to the victims of the floods in Pakistan.


He said the generosity has been triggered by a nation-wide campaign which dominated the airwaves in the Netherlands for several days.
The Dutch ambassador said the funds will go towards the provision of food, shelter, medical care, clean water and sanitation for the victims of the floods.
During his visit to flood affected areas in Sindh, the Dutch ambassador met with representatives of UN OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and the Regional Director of National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan.
The ambassador was briefed about the relief operation and informed of the difficulties and future projects of the region to maintain sustainability.
Ambassador Reintjes recognized and appreciated the work of OCHA and NDMA in providing early assistance in the flood ravaged district in Sindh.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Dutch government providing Euro 9.6 million for flood affected areas

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

a very kind and considerate move by the government and people of Germany....may it bring them back blessings and good 'karma'

 

[unicorn]

PAKISTAN: Trauma follows IDPs to camps

PESHAWAR/HANGU, 10 November 2010 (IRIN) - Two teenage girls peek out from a tent at the Muhammad Khwaja camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the town of Hangu, northwestern Pakistan, before quickly ducking back inside. Like many girls and women based at camps, tradition means they must remain within the shelter much of the day.

Times have been hard for everyone at the camp recently. “The rain that poured down here early in August flooded our tent… but we just tried to manage. Our home in the Orakzai Agency is damaged and we cannot go back,” Saif Ullah, 40, told IRIN. He said “many” tents were uprooted by the rain and wind.

Life at camps is especially tough on women.

“I remain cooped up, inside this bit of canvas, almost all day, with four children who have little to do. I do not like to go out as there are many men about. My 10-year-old son escorts me and my daughters to the bathroom - and we try to avoid going till it is dark so we have some privacy and men do not see us stepping into the bathroom. I sometimes stop my teenage daughter from drinking water so she can avoid urinating till dusk,” said Kainat Bibi, 40, at the camp.

She complained of stifling heat inside the tent over the summer and now cold as winter draws in, but said: “As women we are accustomed to staying within our homes, even if it is as miserable as this one.”

In her own home, in the Orakzai Agency along the border with Afghanistan, Kainat used to spend hours in her courtyard tending the animals, preparing food or chatting with female neighbours.

At the Jalozai Camp in Nowshera, near Peshawar, capital of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province (formerly North West Frontier Province), Jehanzeb Khan, 35, from the Bajaur tribal agency, told IRIN he sends his children to queue up for food because it is so demeaning to collect handouts. “I have tried to find work here, and I am an experienced carpenter, but no one gives us work as they believe we are all militants,” he said.

“Most of the people at Jalozai are IDPs displaced by conflict. After the rains and floods we gave them some extra assistance,” Arianne Rummery, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, told IRIN.

People at the camp say flooding added to their miseries. “The tents stood in mud, bedding was wet and even now children are sick. We wonder when our miseries will end,” said Lal Khan, 50. He and his family have been displaced from the Bajaur Agency since early 2009.

According to a 4 August update by the World Health Organization (WHO), “in Jalozai IDP camp, health staff conducted 1,096 consultations. Of these, 93 were for acute diarrhoea without dehydration.” The WHO also reported cases of supected watery diarrhoea in September at Jalozai, but noted an overall reduction in cases.

“The people of the tribal areas have a strong bond with their land and traditions. Moving away from their homes along with women and children is very traumatic for them,” said Nilofer Qazi, a clinical psychologist at the Shafiq Psychiatric Hospital in Peshawar.

“Indignities” of displacement

Qazi told IRIN most of those coming to her “suffered severe depression”, something she attributed also to the experience of “standing in queues to get food” and the other “indignities” of displacement. She said the consciousness of people from the conflict zone about their self-respect and their “very sensitive nature” made it harder for them to cope with displacement.

“We are not accustomed to being dependent on others. Now we have no choice but to accept whatever is dished out to us,” said Wali Muhammad Khan, from Bajaur Agency. He told IRIN his mother, “who had never before left our village” had for “over a month” virtually stopped talking after moving into the Jalozai Camp and then to a relative’s home.

The experience of being without a home, and forced to live with strangers, was especially painful for a woman who for 70 years had only rarely left her home. “We took her to a doctor who said she was severely depressed, so now she is receiving medicines for that,” he said.

Life in the IDP camps in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province is especially hard on the elderly, unused to anything but life that had for decades remained unchanged.

“My father, who is in his late 70s, was just unable to adjust to life at the camp we went to in Kohat. He missed his companions back home, even the landscape, and said we should never have left the place where our ancestors are buried. He was very distressed, but is slightly better since we moved in with a cousin here in Hangu,” said Farzad Khan Manikhel, 25.

Muhammad Shafiq, a psychiatrist at Peshawar’s Khyber Medical College, told IRIN “the majority of my patients from tribal areas are adult men and older people. The tribal people are used to certain customs, traditions and a peculiar life-style. It is really hard for them to change their habits at this age.”

Despondent

“My father and my mother almost had to be dragged from our home in our village. We had decided months ago not to leave, but we had no choice after the death of 72 people when the military bombed Sra Vela village early in April. We feared more of us could die,” said Farzad Khan.

There has been limited study of trauma in conflict-affected areas, where the military has been fighting Taliban militants since 2009. Qazi said the problem also is that most affected people do not see a healthcare professional but “prefer to go to a chemist’s and buy some tranquilizers or sleeping pills”. There has been even less research on the emotional or psychological suffering of people living in camps.

“It is terrible just sitting around all day, or answering questions from government officials who want to register us and treat us like animals. They are annoyed if we don’t have identity cards, but who can think of taking these from homes that are burning down as bombs fall and leave you wondering when we will die,” said Hakim Khan, 25, at Jalozai. He fled the Khyber Agency with his family early this year.

Psychiatrist Riaz Shabbir said the situation was serious and needed to be urgently rectified. “The death of civilians is causing great despondency and dejection among them,” he said. “This can have very serious consequences, leading even to suicide.”

source: integrated regional information networks

 

[unicorn]

Pakistani, U.S., WFP Officials Mark End of Marine Corps Flood Mission
US Marine Corps News

11/10/2010
By U.S. Embassy Islamabad, 26th MEU

Pano Aqil, Pakistan -- Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Nadeem Ahmed, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Mike LeFever, Defense Representative to Pakistan (ODR-P) Commander, Maj. Gen. Nasrullah Tahir Dogar, Pakistan Army's 16 Division Commander, along with Philippe Martou, Chief of Aviation for the World Food Program, and a number of U.S. and Pakistan servicemembers, marked the end of U.S. Marine Corps helicopter flood relief operations during a ceremony Nov. 10 at Pano Aqil Cantonment, Sindh Province, Pakistan.

The three leaders gave thanks and bid farewell to the humanitarian airlift team of Pano Aqil: Pakistan Army’s 16 Division, the U.S. 26th and 15th Marine Expeditionary Units, and the World Food Program. The team had provided emergency humanitarian airlift via U.S. Marine helicopters since Sept. 3, delivering urgently needed relief supplies across flood-torn southern Pakistan.

"The job is not yet over, but largely the lead part is coming to an end," said Nadeem of the transition from urgent humanitarian airlift to follow-on recovery and reconstruction projects.

With the waters receding and road transportation becoming viable again, the Government of Pakistan requested the U.S. Marine Corps conclude its mission; their last flight was on Nov. 3.

“Here at Pano Aqil, on the 235th birthday of the US Marine Corps, we mark the occasion of a mission well done by a combined team of tireless first responders: the Pakistan Army’s 16 Division, the World Food Program, and the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units of the U.S.,” said LeFever.

“This extraordinary team worked around the clock to deliver nearly 4 million pounds of relief supplies [approximately 1.8 million kilograms] to about 150 locations in the Sindh Province,” he said.

"The operation made the difference between life and death for many people totally surrounded by water who could not be reached by any other way," said Nasrullah, noting the gratitide of Pakistanis affected by the flood.

Although U.S. military helicopter operations in southern Pakistan have concluded, U.S. commitment to supporting Pakistan’s flood relief and recovery effort remains strong.

LeFever pointed to several examples of continued support.

“At Pakistan’s request, we continue to provide helicopter support at Ghazi Aviation Base,” he said.

“Also, the U.S. Government is providing more than $463 million to assist Pakistan with relief and recovery efforts. Meanwhile, USAID and other U.S. civilian agencies continue to provide assistance to flood victims,” said LeFever.

To date, U.S. military personnel and aircraft, working in close partnership with the Pakistan military, have delivered more than 23 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of international relief supplies and provided humanitarian airlift for more than 34,000 people throughout flood-affected areas.

“These American and Pakistani servicemembers and their partners from the World Food Program can take great pride in their accomplishments; they will long remember their roles and contributions towards the preservation of life following one of the most devastating natural disasters in Pakistan's history,” noted LeFever.

In closing, LeFever said “It has been a great honor for us to be a part of this humanitarian mission and help the people of southern Pakistan in the wake of the tragic monsoon floods.”

 

[Mohsin163]

well one thing we have learned through this whole flood crisis is that our country is not at all united, ppl always tend to collect funds on their own and plan to take the things to flood affected areas themselves when they obviously dont have the necessary resources ( planes and boats ) to reach the most affected portions, ppl i think should trust the bigger institutions and fund them for more effective rescue efforts cuz everyone if tries to do things themselves things will becum haphazard .....

 

[RPK]

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Japan announces $500 mln assistance for flood-hit areas

ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): Japan on Monday announced 500 million dollars for Pakistan as an additional assistance for rehabilitation in flood affected areas.Makiko Kikuta, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs speaking at the Pakistan Development Forum here, said Japan in specific would provide the government of Pakistan 233 million US dollars worth of additional soft loans for rehabilitation of roads and bridges in rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


She said the amount would also be used for importing goods including fertilizers and seeds required for reconstruction following the flood.
“Furthermore, we will provide approximately 267 million US dollars worth of assistance for the works of international organizations, subject to Diet approval,” she said.
Makiko said as a total, Japan’s assistance related to flood would now amount 568 million US dollars.
She said recognizing Pakistan’s importance in regional stability, Japan actively supported the efforts of Pakistan government in addressing terrorism and on economic reforms.
She mentioned that Japan sent six helicopters with about 520 personnel from the Self Defence Forces and two batches of medical teams, both as Japan Disaster Relief Teams.
“We also provided assistance aimed at early recovery including emergency humanitarian assistance and repairs of rural roads and bridges in sindh province,” she said.
Isabel Guerrero, Vice President for South Asia region, The World Bank stressed for development achievable through a combination of institutional efforts including public enterprise reform, higher investments in critical infrastructure, energy development and incentives to increase productivity.
She called for reducing poverty and making progress in education, health and nutrition for an equitable development.
She highlighted improving environmental and disaster risk management, adding that Pakistan urgently needed to build the disaster management organization.
Guerrero said the Bank had already extended 300 million dollars in critical import financing to assist the government.
Adnan Mazarei, International Monetary Fund’s mission chief to Pakistan said IMF had given 400 million dollars to the Pakistan government in September without any conditions, to help it cope with flood devastation.
He supported the implementation of RGST and said it should be complemented by the provincial laws for its early implementation.
He said the tax system in Pakistan needed to be more equitable.
The IMF mission chief mentioned the two billion rupees as subsidy of electricity, which was equal to the country’s health and education sector budget. He called for its early rectification.
Vice President Asian Development Bank, Xiaoyu Zhao assured fast track assistance to Pakistan to help develop housing sector on priority in the flood affected areas.
He said the road to economic recovery became difficult due to devastating floods but assured that ADB would continue to support the strategic dialogue also under the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) forum.
He pointed at the energy sector’s shortcomings and assured the Bank’s support to implement reforms in this sector. He also stressed for generating domestic resources.
United Kingdom’s Development secretary Andrew Mitchell said the UK was ready to increase its support to help Pakistan secure a vibrant, prosperous and strong future and said an exceptional package of reforms was needed to secure its future.
He confirmed that the UK would provide shelter for another quarter of a million people, plus more drinking water and latrines to held the flood affected in Sindh.
He mentioned that the UK government had committed a total of 134 million pounds (Rs 18 billion), whereas the UK public generously donated for further 64 million pound (above Rs 8.5 billion) through the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

 

[RPK]

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - US to provide US 500 million under KLB for flood affected; Holbrooke

 

[razgriz19]

GUYZ JUST HEARD ON THE NEWS THAT TURKISH PM IS GIVING "1000 BAKROON KA GOSHT" TO PAKISTANI FLOOD VICTIMS!!!

 

[Solomon2]

Red Cross calls for nearly double in aid for Pakistan

“We are still in the midst of a massive crisis and are having to stretch our resources further,” said a Red Cross official. -AFP File Photo

GENEVA: The Red Cross on Monday doubled its aid appeal for Pakistan in a bid to ramp up relief ahead of winter for 910,000 victims of the devastating July and August floods.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society issued a call for 133.87 million dollars (97.97 million euros) in aid, which would go towards food for 350,000 people in Sindh and Punjab provinces and 10,000 shelters for those whose homes were swept away by the floods.

“People have been left with virtually nothing. They do not have adequate food or shelter and we cannot afford to let them go through a winter, cold and hungry,” said Nelson Castano, the federation’s flood operations coordinator.

“We are still in the midst of a massive crisis and are having to stretch our resources further,” he added in a statement.

Last week a senior EU official warned that flood waters could linger up to another six months in Pakistan and that the magnitude of the crisis meant that some people were still going without aid. -AFP