This Article is From Aug 09, 2010

Pak floods: Helicopters drop food to victims

Islamabad: Many people displaced by the floods in Pakistan were struggling to find shelter on Sunday, as the United Nations warned it will cost billions of US dollars for Pakistan to recover from the devastation.

More than 1,500 people have been killed and millions more left begging for help following the worst floods in the country's history.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appealed for more help from the international community, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people threatened by flooding that submerged villages in the south.

Officials said at least 53 people were killed in landslides in northern Pakistan, adding to the disaster that has affected an estimated 15 million people.

The government has struggled to cope with the scale of the disaster, prompting the international community to help by donating tens of millions of US dollars and providing relief supplies.

But many flood victims have complained that they have not received aid quickly enough or at all, further undermining support for a government that was already unpopular.

The military used helicopters to drop food to people in the Kot Addu and Sanawa areas of Punjab province.

"The people who did not want to leave their houses, we planned to provide food for them at the places where they are," said Major Mohammad Farooq, an army spokesman for the area.

The floodwaters have spread south down the country, bringing death and destruction to the central and southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh after devastating the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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