UN to help Pakistani flood victims

(September 12, 2011) The United Nations says it will help victims of flooding in southern Pakistan that has killed about 200 people and left around 200,000 homeless. Many of the affected communities are still recovering from last year's devastating nationwide floods. A U.N. statement said on Sunday the humanitarian crisis was ``still growing'' after exceptionally heavy monsoon rains. It said it would quickly begin distributing food, water and housing in Sindh province where nearly a million houses have been destroyed or damaged and some 4.2 million acres have been flooded since late August. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani who heads an unpopular cash-strapped government has appealed to the international community for help. Pakistan has a weak, corrupt government. Even in normal circumstances, the country's 180 million people receive little help from the state.