Flood aid picks up after initially sluggish response
More than three weeks into Pakistan's devastating flooding, the South Asian nation has received donations or pledges of more than $800 million in international assistance, the foreign minister said Sunday.
The aid comes after an initially sluggish global response that was criticized by the United States and the United Nations, which appealed last week for $460 million. The United States has pledged $150 million, more than any other country.
News of the increased assistance, however, was tempered by warnings that the swelling Indus River could inundate additional parts of southern Sindh province, where officials were evacuating hundreds of thousands of people.
The floods, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains, reached the south after starting in Pakistan's mountainous northwest region and then surging into its agricultural heartland. The raging waters have killed about 1,500 people, affected at least 20 million and strained the Pakistani government, which was already struggling with a weak economy and an Islamist insurgency.
No comments:
Post a Comment