Pakistan flood-related losses reach $43 billion
IANS
2010-09-01 16:10:00 Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday that his country has suffered losses of around $43 billion due to the floods that have displaced over 17 million people and killed over 1,600. The floods, which started with heavy monsoon rains in July, have affected 30 percent of agricultural land and more than 10 percent of the population, destroying crops and livestock, and damaging homes, Gilani said at a weekly cabinet meeting. He added that ‘the losses in terms of infrastructure – that is road, bridges and irrigation – and social structure are massive’. … The floods also damaged 517 medical facilities in the country, which already suffers from insufficient health care provision, making it harder to cope with potential health emergencies. Aid organisations were also making emergency preparations to facilitate an estimated 500,000 flood-affected women expecting children in the next six months. ‘We don’t want it (the disaster) to also affect half a million babies who are not born yet,’ said Martin Mogwanja, humanitarian coordinator for the flood-hit South Asian country. …
