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Worst monsoon floods in the Pakistan’s story kill 800 people

31 July 2010 116 views No Comment BY: BNO News

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) – The worst monsoon floods in the Pakistan's story left at least 800 dead, and affected one million in northwest Pakistan, with most of the stricken areas cut off, limiting access and relief efforts, officials said on Saturday.

According to UN officials, the floods have caused major damage to infrastructure in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including roads and at least 45 bridges, as wells as thousands of homes.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that at least 800 people were killed and 150 people are missing; at least 3,700 houses had been destroyed.

The Pakistani government is leading the relief efforts, with support from the armed forces, the UN and the United States.

According to the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. is providing four rescue boats, two water filtration units - each unit can fulfill the daily water requirements of up to 10,000 people -, an initial delivery of more than 50,000 halal meals from U.S. supply depots, and 12 pre-fabricated steel bridges.

The Embassy also said the U.S. provided helicopters to support the Ministry of Interior’s rescue operations. The MOI 50th Squadron has been able to rescue more than 400 people isolated by the flood waters.

According to local officials, highways connecting Peshawar to the capital Islamabad and China were cut after 312 millimeters (12 inches) of rain.

The European Commission announced that it will provide €30 million for relief efforts. "The security and the humanitarian situation are very volatile in Pakistan. The most important issue is that humanitarian principles are respected in the delivery of aid," said Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

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