The world begins to pledge flooding aid to Pakistan

Pakistan is trying to recover from the worst flooding in over 80 years. The death toll has now climbed above 1,500 people. With the need increasing, both the US and Britain yesterday pledged millions of dollars of new aid to Pakistan.

From the Daily Mail, writers David Williams and Imtiaz Hussain give us the latest details on the recovery from the flooding and the threat of disease. We recommend going to the full article as it also includes many stunning photographs of the disaster.

The anger of flood victims poses a danger to the already struggling government. Several hundred protested in the hard-hit district of Nowshera, where survivors had crammed into temporary shelters.

About 250 flood victims blocked a main road in the north-west city of Peshawar last night, complaining they had receiving little or no assistance.

'We need tents. Just look around,' said one, Faisal Islam, sitting on the only dry ground he could find - a highway overpass - surrounded by hundreds more in makeshift shelters constructed from dirty sheets and tarpaulins.

He added: 'This is the only shirt I have. Everything else is buried.'

Waterborne disease, including cholera, could kill thousands more if aid workers cannot deliver enough clean drinking water. 'We have dispatched dozens of mobile medical teams in the affected districts,' said Sohail Altaf, a senior medical official in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa.

Officials have yet to receive concrete reports of cholera cases, but fear of an outbreak is high, he said. Patients with stomach problems from dirty water are being treated in government medical camps, he said.

Hundreds of roads and bridges have been swept away and the Pakistan army, which says it has rescued 28,000 in recent days, predicts search and rescue operations will take at least ten days.

A spokesman for UK-based charity Save The Children said the infrastructure damage in the Swat region may be worse than in the earthquake of 2005 when 75,000 people died.

'We fear that in places which have not yet been accessed there are people that were trapped, and there is a possibility of more deaths taking place,' he said.

Another UK-based charity, ActionAid, launched an emergency appeal to help send food, water and sanitation supplies.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1299393/Pakistan-floods-Britain-pledges-5m-aid-victims.html#ixzz0vXOOiWjQ