Appeal Launched Over Pakistan Flooding

British charities are launching a radio and television appeal today to raise funds for those affected by the floods in Pakistan.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which includes 13 UK humanitarian agencies such as Action Aid, Oxfam, Christian Aid and the British Red Cross, will broadcast the appeals later today.

Actor Art Malik will present the appeal for ITV, while broadcaster and former British hostage in Lebanon John McCarthy will front the BBC appeal.

The floods, which are the worst to hit Pakistan in 80 years, are believed to have affected three million people, with at least 1,400 killed.

The monsoon floods intensified on Saturday, hitting the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa the hardest. Millions of people have lost their homes and livelihoods, with thousands of acres of crops, government buildings, businesses, schools, bridges and railway tracks destroyed by the floods.

Rising water levels due to the incessant rain is now threatening regions further downstream and the DEC said that there were now "serious concerns" about the vulnerability of one of Pakistan's largest dams at Warsak near Peshawar.

DEC Chief Executive Brendan Gormley said: "These floods have destroyed the lives of thousands of families, washing away entire villages and leaving millions of survivors suffering with little food or shelter. With more heavy rain predicted, it is clear the situation is at tipping point and the speed of our response is vital.

"DEC member agencies and their partners are responding but with roads and bridges damaged, the challenges we face are considerable. We urgently need the public's help to save more lives."

The DEC said that there were "serious logistical difficulties" with bringing aid into the affected areas, but said that significant aid had already been delivered.

ActionAid has helped over 23,000 people in the worst hit areas, providing rice, oil and plastic sheeting, while twelve medical camps have also been established.

CARE International also sent a convoy of eleven trucks to the Swat district of Pakistan on Tuesday with tents, shawls and other emergency supplies for around 1,800 people, while World Vision have distributed relief supplies, such as food and water, to more than 7,000 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has also provided food parcels for over 20,000 people in blaochistan and the southern Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which were distributed by the Pakistan Red Crescent Society.

The DEC said that controlling infectious diseases, including diarrhoea, in the coming days, would be a major challenge, with reports of cholera cases in the Swat Valley already.

To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan appeal, contact the 24-hour hotline on: 0370 60 60 900, visit the website at: www.dec.org.uk, donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, send a cheque or donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

(KMcA/GK)