UN pledges aid for Pakistan flood victims World body responds to calls for help from Islamabad after heavy rains in southern Pakistan affect up to five million.Last Modified: 12 Sep 2011 11:02
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) says.
Prime Minister Gilani said the recent rains in Sindh had inundated an area of 16,592 sq km, including 6,879 sq km of crops.
"The situation in Sindh is already serious and there will be more flooding and more problems because of these rains," Arif Mehmood, a meteorological department official, said.
Zafar Qadir,the chairman of the NDMA, said Pakistan was facing a fresh crisis "of great magnitute".
The country is still recovering from last year's floods, which affected 21 million people and killed an estimated 1,750. More than a year later, over 800,000 families remain without permanent shelter.
Aid workers expressed fears over possible outbreak of diseases linked to the new floods, especially among children.
"The biggest issue is that they will drink water from anywhere, so water-borne diseases are a threat, especially diarrhoea and cholera," Sami Malik, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund, told Reuters news agency
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/09/20119129203801483.html
