US sends aid to Pakistan flood victims
The US will also send tents and other non-food items in response to a request for assistance launched by Pakistan.
WASHINGTON:
The United States on Monday sent food and medical aid to Pakistan for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by torrential rains that have already left more than 200 dead.
Food aid is targeted at nearly 350,000 Pakistanis, while Washington hopes the medical assistance can reach "about 500,000," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The United States will also send tents and other non-food items in response to a request for assistance launched by Pakistan last week, she said.
(Read: Gilani appeals to world community for help)
Pakistan has now seen vast swathes of farmland inundated for a second year in the southern province of Sindh, the nation's breadbasket.
One official said the situation there was even worse than last year, when 21 million people were flood-hit.
"So far, 209 people have been killed and 5.3 million affected," Zafar Qadir, head of Pakistan's disaster management authority, told reporters.
The United States on Monday sent food and medical aid to Pakistan for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by torrential rains that have already left more than 200 dead.
Food aid is targeted at nearly 350,000 Pakistanis, while Washington hopes the medical assistance can reach "about 500,000," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The United States will also send tents and other non-food items in response to a request for assistance launched by Pakistan last week, she said.
(Read: Gilani appeals to world community for help)
Pakistan has now seen vast swathes of farmland inundated for a second year in the southern province of Sindh, the nation's breadbasket.
One official said the situation there was even worse than last year, when 21 million people were flood-hit.
"So far, 209 people have been killed and 5.3 million affected," Zafar Qadir, head of Pakistan's disaster management authority, told reporters.