MULTAN // UAE helicopters dropped emergency aid to Pakistani flood victims yesterday as a local army chief in one of the worst affected areas warned that relief supplies would last only two days.
Colonel Hussain Zahid, of the Pakistani Army Corps HQ, said aid stockpiles were low but new supplies were expected soon. Working from the Multan air base, south of Faisalabad, his unit is responsible for coordinating the relief effort for about 2.6 million people in Southern Punjab, devastated by the torrential rains and flash floods for the past three weeks. This month the UAE dispatched three fully-laden Chinook cargo helicopters and 40 aircrew to the Multan air base to help the relief effort.
The crews have been flying up to four missions a day for the past 12 days, transporting much-needed food, water, medicine and tents to those worst affected by the disaster. More than 1,200 villages were hit by flooding in southern Punjab after the Indus and Chenab rivers broke their banks. "I am happy to be here and help these people. The flooding was much worse than I had expected; so many bridges have been destroyed," said Captain Hadif al Mansouri, a helicopter pilot from Abu Dhabi, who is taking part in the aid mission.
"It can be very hard when you think about the suffering that some of these people are going through. I am a father myself so I can imagine how hard it must be for parents who have sick children but cannot do anything to help them." Khamis al Mazroui, from Ras al Khaimah, who works in the military logistics section, added: "This is the first time I have been on any kind of aid mission like this. It is important in times of crisis that people help their other brothers who are in difficulty. "It is painful to see children who are sick like this. I think of my own children and what it would be like if they were sick."
The crews have shuttled hundreds of tonnes of aid during the past two weeks and yesterday deposited rice, beans and medicine to the Ritra refugee camp, some 50 miles outside Multan. Hundreds of homeless people gathered to watch the twin-rotor helicopters land in a dusty strip of land outside the makeshift camp, which is home to some 1,700 displaced people. Families told of how they fought for their lives against a torrent of water after their mud-brick houses were washed away by the floods. Bashir Omar, 32, his wife Bilkise, 32, and their two children arrived at the camp after their home was destroyed by floodwater. "We left the house in the middle of the night. It was around 2.30am and suddenly we heard a crash. Our house was made out of mud bricks and they just washed away," said Mr Omar. "The water was so strong. It was very frightening. I was worried for my children. "We arrived at the camp and soon after the children became sick with a fever. They went to the hospital and now they are better but they are weak. I just want to go back home but we have to wait until the water goes down." The floods are Pakistan's worst natural disaster with an estimated 1,600 killed and some 20 million people affected. The UN has described the floods as the greatest catastrophic natural disaster in its history, affecting more people than the Haiti earthquake this year and the Asian tsunami in 2004. There are fears that the death toll could increase as diseases such as cholera and dysentery become more prevalent. In the Southern Punjab, rescuers are trying to navigate a huge flood plain spanning 5,400 square kilometres. Col Zahid's team oversees rescue efforts across a six-million acre site, covering five regional districts - Leiah, Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan - and is charged with the management of 46 relief camps for those made homeless by the flooding. "There are shortages of food. There is little drinking water and there is a danger of the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and dysentery," he said. "We need to provide food and water to those displaced people. "We need around 15,000 tonnes of aid to provide help for the next 15 to 20 days but we only have around 1,000 tonnes. That is only enough for about two days. There are other supplies in the pipeline. "We are not holding anything in reserve. We are getting as much aid out as quickly as possible." Despite the international community offering tens of millions of dollars, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has urged world powers to speed up donations in order to avoid a "second wave of deaths" from disease. @Email:chamilton@thenational.ae
