Thursday, 22 September 2011

Death toll in Pakistan floods rises to 369

Floods overwhelm Sindh and Balochistan provincesThe United Nations is seeking millions for relief effortsThis is the second consecutive year of deadly flooding for Pakistan

(CNN) -- At least 369 people have died and 700,000 are living in refugee camps because of flooding in southern Pakistan, the country's national disaster authority said Thursday.

The flooding in Sindh province has destroyed 1.5 million homes in 41,000 villages, the government said. About 8.2 million people have been affected. Along with the deaths, more than 740 people have been injured.

About 67 percent of food stocks have been destroyed and nearly 37 percent of the livestock has been lost "or sold to avoid loss," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said earlier this week.

"At least 5 million surviving animals are at risk, lacking feed and shelter and facing increased exposure to debilitating diseases and worm infestations," Byrs said.

The United Nations' World Food Programme has been distributing food to thousands of people.

More than 6,000 schools have been damaged by the floods and 1,363 education facilities are currently being used as relief distribution sites in Sindh, officials said.

There also was flooding in Balochistan province but figures about the calamity there weren't available.

The United Nations said Monday that it is seeking donors to build a $357 million fund to help the Pakistani government's flood response efforts.

It is meant to provide food, water, sanitation, health care and shelter for flood victims for up to six months.

Pakistan was also the site of massive and deadly flooding in August 2010. It lasted for weeks and caused $9.7 billion in damages to homes, roads and farms in southwestern Pakistan.

More than 1,700 people died in the 2010 flooding, and more than 20 million were displaced, officials reported.


View the original article here


This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

No comments:

Post a Comment