Dubai: A team from the UAE has arrived in Karachi to move relief materials to the affected people in the flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan.
The team members have, in coordination with the UAE Consulate in Karachi, started arrangements for the first convoy carrying relief materials to Badin district, the worst hit area, a statement released by official news agency WAM, said.
It said a relief camp will be set up in a safe area to accommodate 5,000 displaced families. UN refugee agency UNHCR has appealed for USD 33.2 million to assist flood victims in Pakistan.
The camp will be expanded gradually to cater for 35,000 families for two weeks.
UAE Consul General in Karachi, Suhail Matar Al Kutbi, said the immediate response to the Sindh river floods was in line with the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"UAE never hesitates in providing assistance to the people affected by natural calamities. The team and consulate members will handle distribution of relief materials to the affected families," he said.
UNHCR's appeal is part of the UN consolidated funding appeal for USD 356.7 million to assist flood victims for over six months.
The requested amount will assist the millions of people struggling to survive the devastating floods that hit Pakistan for a second year in a row.
The funds will be used to provide 75,000 tents and equal number kits of household relief items and thousands of plastic sheets, which can be used as simple, emergency shelters. The supplies will benefit an estimated 525,000 people, many of whom have just started to come to grips with the historic floods of 2010.
PTI
First Published: Friday, September 23, 2011, 11:35