Britons Donate £4m To Pakistan Flood Victims

The British public has donated £4m towards helping the relief effort for the millions of flood victims in Pakistan.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) described the response to a TV appeal as "fantastic".

Some 12 million people in Pakistan are already homeless or living in cramped and squalid conditions while waiting for help.

The DEC said around 300,000 people have received emergency care, clean water, food or shelter as a result of British aid.

Chief executive Brendan Gormley said: "As always the British public have shown themselves to be extremely generous.

"The donations we have received are now having a real and immediate impact on people who have been affected by the flooding."

He added: "Although the situation in Pakistan is difficult with waters having washed away or severely damaged bridges, roads and railway tracks, the aid is getting through and reaching those who need it most.

"Aid agencies are already distributing life saving medical supplies, clean water and food parcels."

Around 1,500 people are estimated to have died as a result of the heavy monsoon rains, which brought the worst floods to the country in 80 years.

Floodwaters are now pushing down from the northern provinces to the south.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says the Sindh and Punjab provinces, which lie along the Indus River, are now most at risk.

Pakistani disaster official Saleh Farooqui said more than 10,000 people have been evacuated from the two provinces after waters burst the river embankments.

Source - Yahoo.