Pakistan flood crisis bigger than tsunami and Haiti combined — ‘It would have been better if we had died in the floods’
By Associated Press
Monday, 09 Aug, 2010 ISLAMABAD: The number of people suffering from the massive floods in Pakistan could exceed the combined total in three recent megadisasters – the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake – the United Nations said Monday. The death toll in each of those three disasters was much higher than the 1,500 people killed so far in the floods that first hit Pakistan two weeks ago. But the Pakistani government estimates that over 13 million people have been affected – two million more than the other disasters combined. The comparison helps frame the scale of the crisis, which has overwhelmed the Pakistani government and has generated widespread anger from flood victims who have complained that aid is not reaching them quickly enough or at all. ”It looks like the number of people affected in this crisis is higher than the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami or the Pakistan earthquake, and if the toll is as high as the one given by the government, it’s higher than the three of them combined,” Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Associated Press. The UN has provided a lower number of people who have been affected in Pakistan, about 6 million, but Giuliano said his organization does not dispute the government’s figure. The UN number does not include the southern province of Sindh, which has been hit by floods in recent days, and the two sides have slightly different definitions of what it means to be affected. The total number of people affected in the three other large disasters that have hit in recent years is about 11 million – 5 million in the tsunami and 3 million in each of the earthquakes – said Giuliano. … ”It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful,” said Ahmed, who fled with his family from the town of Shikarpur and spent the night shivering in the rain that has continued to lash the country. … A senior government official in Sukkur, Inamullah Dhareejo, said authorities were working to set up relief camps in the district and deliver food to flood victims. But an Associated Press reporter who traveled widely through the worst-hit areas in Sindh over the past three days saw no sign of relief camps or government assistance. …
The killer waves that struck on Dec 26 left 170 dead in Kerala. The Kerala government set up a committee to formulate a comprehensive insurance scheme for the tsunami-ravaged fishing community, with the government paying most of the premium.
World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn says the bank will support the Sri Lankan government in "a fast, transparent and effective way" to assist the tsunami-hit communities to rebuild their homes. The bank has reserved about $100 million for post-tsunami rebuilding in Sri Lanka from existing projects.
Donations by the British public for aid to the tsunami-affected have crossed the 100 million pounds mark that includes large donations by individuals and companies.
1) Clothing tycoon Richard Caring has made a personal donation of one million pounds.
2) Philip Green has donated 100,000 pounds to Flood Aid.
3) Matalan gave 150,000 pounds.
4) John Hargreaves made a personal donation of $300,000 split between Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
5) The Hilton and Community Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hilton hotel group, gave 100,000 pounds while the sports chain JJB Sports donated 50,000 pounds.
6) Customers at Debenhams have so far given 125,212 pounds via collecting boxes in the stores, while TV station five, formerly Channel 5, gave a large undisclosed sum.
7) The Kingly Club in London is donating 20 per cent of its takings for cocktail sales.