Pakistan’s more than a million flood victims shelter before winter

(Oct.05,2010) More than one million flood victims of Pakistan urgently need shelter before winter sets in, said the International Federation of Red Cross, IFRC, and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Both are planning to provide transitional shelters for one million flood victims, said IFRC President Tadateru Konoe. “The situation is very complex. People are shelter-less, have no food, no clean drinking weather and have poor health facilities,” said the IFRC president, who is on a short visit to Pakistan to assess the damage and see the relief activities in flood-affected areas. “I have seen with my own eyes people dig in the mud,” he added. “The IFRC, in partnership with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, now hopes to conduct a second round of aid distribution to these families. Winter is fast approaching and we would love to be able to provide as many people as possible with more blankets to help them cope with the cold. But to do this, we need more money now,” he said.
According to the United Nations, there are more than 20 million displaced people living in emergency camps, many of them isolated, and this make aid work more difficult. Currently, 150,000 families are receiving relief aid from the Red Cross and Red Crescent, working with 37 associations to provide food and non-food items in 89 districts. The IRFC has appealed for an extra US$ 72 million; so far it has raised 73 per cent from international donors.