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Environment
'Humanity is Calling' Says Pakistani Embassy
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Ambassador
Tokyo -- Pakistani Ambassador Noor Muhammad Jadmani and Embassy Counsellor Asad Gilani made an urgent appeal at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan this afternoon for increased humanitarian aid to their country in the wake of floods that have devasted much of the country.
"Pakistan is calling; humanity is calling," they declared.
According to the information offered by Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 1,600 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,200,000 homes have been either destroyed or damaged. It is said that about 20% of the nation's agricultural land was submerged by the flood, and many more lives stand to be lost if aid efforts and reconstruction efforts fall short of the country's vast needs.
The Japanese government has announced about US$14.4 million in aid monies and has dispatched a small SDF helicopter mission to Pakistan.
The SDF advance team arrived in Multan on the 22nd and, apparently, the first helicopters just arrived a few hours ago.
According to Ambassador Jadmani, the SDF helicopters will first be used to rescue survivors from remote locations and then will begin dropping foodstuffs and transporting supplies to the needy.
Aside from the government response, two Japanese NGOs have also sent teams to Pakistan, Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR Japan) and Japan Platform.
The flooding was caused by heavy monsoons that pounded parts of the country that usually don't experience such rainfall.
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