(The United) Nations has launched an appeal for more than $450 million to help those affected by the floods in Pakistan. The money is for immediate relief in the next three months. The UN relief coordinator John Holmes said the disaster was one of the most challenging that any country has faced in recent years. He said that unless the
provision
of aid such as food and clean water to millions of displaced people was rapidly increased, many more lives would be at risk.
"It is an
unfolding
disaster. It is not over by any
stretch
of the imagination. So I would encourage you to be as generous as you possibly can
in response to
what is a major
catastrophe
."
The United Nations says 14 million people have been affected by the floods; at least 1,200 people have died. From Pakistan, here is Aleem Maqbool.
It's taken days even for Pakistanis to
comprehend
the scale of this disaster. What's started in the north as the heaviest rains ever recorded here led to vast areas being totally
submerge
d. But then that huge body of water created surged south in a powerful torrent that is still going. Every province of Pakistan has now been affected. Large districts have been
render
ed inaccessible by the waters. And as so many wait for food, clean water or shelter to come their way, frustrations of the
impotence
of the Pakistani government grow.