U.S. accelerates flood relief assistance to Pakistan as death toll hits 800

ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) — The United States on Sunday announced it will accelerate flood relief assistance to Pakistan as the death toll from the disaster surged past 800.

The flooding in the past week or so, caused by record-breaking rainfall, has left parts of the country devastated with more than 1 million people affected. Especially areas in the north were the worst hit.

On Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said more than 800 people had been killed in his province alone. The province is better known as the North-West Frontier Province, its former name.

The U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, on Sunday said it would continue sending assistance for flood relief efforts in the country. “The United States supports Pakistan’s emergency relief efforts on behalf of people affected by recent monsoon floods,” she said.

Patterson said the U.S. will provide four Zodiac inflatable rescue boats which are designed and built for lightness and speed on rapidly flowing waters. The U.S. will also provide two water filtration units, which provide pumping, purification, storage and distribution. Each unit can fulfill the daily water requirements of up to 10,000 people.

The additional aid is being provided to Pakistan after a request from Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority.

Besides the inflatable rescue boats and water filtration units, the U.S. is also providing an initial delivery of more than 50,000 halal meals from U.S. supply depots in the region. They will be delivered to Pakistan’s military for distribution in flood-stricken areas. Patterson said arrangements are being made to deliver more halal meals to Pakistan in the coming week.

Finally, Patterson announced, the United States will provide twelve pre-fabricated steel bridges that can temporarily replace highway bridges damaged by flooding in Peshawar and Kurram Agency. The Provincial Government and Pakistan’s military are coordinating their efforts to ensure the use of these bridges.

On Friday, the U.S. provided seven helicopters as an initial response to support the country’s Ministry of Interior’s rescue operations. The Ministry of Interior’s 50th Squadron has been able to rescue more than 400 people isolated by the flood waters. Food and water also has been ferried to people still not able to leave the flood areas, and helicopter operations were continuing on Sunday.

“The heavy monsoon rains have caused much suffering,” Patterson said on Friday, when she announced seven helicopters as an initial response to the flooding. “We are working with Pakistan’s government to review urgent humanitarian needs and hope to announce additional assistance very soon.”

“Additional assistance will be provided based on the Government of Pakistan’s assessments of humanitarian needs,” the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said in a statement on Sunday.

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