Millions in Pakistan Struggle Against Record Floods
13 August 2010
Villagers flee their homes in central Pakistan on Wednesday because of flooding
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
Much of Pakistan faces more storms in the coming days. Heavy rains have already caused more than two weeks of record flooding. Health officials worry about disease spreading because of a lack of clean drinking water.
The United Nations wants four hundred sixty million dollars to provide immediate help to fourteen million people affected by the flooding. The appeal this week came as estimates put the number of dead at about one thousand six hundred.
The Pakistani ambassador to the U.N. says the floods could limit his country's economic growth this year. The cotton industry has been especially hard hit.
Pakistan has cancelled official Independence Day celebrations that were set for Saturday.
The United States military has been helping rescue people and transport emergency supplies by helicopter.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, is expected to visit Pakistan next week. He helped push for a big program of civilian aid that Congress approved last year for Pakistan.
Separately, Russian officials are reporting progress against wildfires that have blackened parts of the country and polluted the air. Russia has requested technical assistance. President Obama called President Dmitri Medvedev on Thursday to tell him that American firefighting equipment is on the way.
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