Flood victims to receive money from individual government ministers

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, has pledged to donate one month’s salary towards helping the nation’s 3.2 million flood victims.

Making his announcement, Gilani said other government ministers would also donate their wages to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund-2010.

The fund has been established as a review of relief and rescue operations in flood-hit areas where food, water and sanitation is badly needed.

He said all federal government officers and army personnel would each donate a day’s salary to flood victims.

Record rains last week triggered floods and landslides that washed away entire villages and ruined farmland in northwest Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa and central Punjab provinces.

The powerful Pakistan military is now likely to step in to help those who have lost their shelter and food stocks.

Markets in many areas are no longer up and running and many shops have simply collapsed into the waters.

The international community has been also mobilizing to send aid to the flood
ravaged country, with the weather bureau warning that more storms will possibly worsen the humanitarian disaster.

According to the UN, around 980,000 people have lost their homes or been temporarily displaced.

At least a million need emergency help and tens of thousands are at risk of disease.