I am sure we will arrange for the funds, but helicopters are a welcome sign
Reference:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=69510&Cat=6
Armed forces out to help flood victims
Pakistan armed forces are again standing shoulder to shoulder with the flood victims in Sindh province. Last year also, the armed forces, in a massive exercise, had come to the rescue and relief of people of all the four provinces affected by the massive floods in the country. Luckily, this year, only two provinces have been affected by the incessant rains and floods, Sindh more than Balochistan.
According to officials of the Meteorological Department, rains in Sindh province during four weeks of August and September 2011 were the highest ever recorded monsoon rains and were preceded by severe drought conditions. They said the last severe rainfall was recorded in 2003 in the province. This time the extremely heavy monsoon rainfall mainly hit Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Diplo, Parker, Nawabshah, Badin, Chhor, Padidan, and Hyderabad, creating a flood situation in the province and also there was little chance of the water receding anytime soon.
According to officials, the deluge and heavy rains have killed around 250 people in the country and affected some six million people. The UNICEF has revealed that 2.7 million children are among the affected flood victims. The floodwaters have inundated some five million acres, damaging 80 percent of the cash crops in Sindh province. Also, more than one million homes have been damaged or destroyed.
The involvement of the armed forces in the rescue and relief operation goes to the top of the hierarchy, including the corps commander and the chief of the army staff. The army is shifting families to safer places, conducting operation through boats, vehicles and helicopters. Corps Commander Lieutenant General Muhammad Zahir Ul Islam has visited the flood affected areas of Badin district. He monitored the rescue operation by road and by boat. The army so far has rescued more than hundred thousand marooned people along with their cattle. It has treated more than 40,000 patients and even provided more than one thousand families food packages from its own resources and troops contributions. The two MI-17 helicopters have been placed at Hyderabad to deal with emergency situation.
Also, general officer commanding of the Pano Aqil Garrison has been visiting places affected by the ravaging floods. Officials have set up flood relief camps where thousands of affected people have been provided refuge. The camps are being run smoothly and efficiently. The flood victims are being provided rations and medical treatment.
Similar is the case of Pakistan Navy, which has launched operation Madad to rescue and support the people trapped in stagnant water. Naval officials are busy in providing rations through helicopters and heavy trucks.
In 2010, Pakistan was hit by the worst flooding in 80 years of recorded history of the region. More than 1,700 people died while estimates provided by the international institutions said that the damage done to infrastructure besides farms and homes could be around $15 billion. The floods left 20 million survivors homeless and ruined crops over more than 7.9 million acres. Estimates said 200,000 livestock died in the floods.
The sheer scale of the deadly floods, which according to experts had inundated an area the size of England, had brought about prompt response from the Pakistan armed forces. On instructions of the COAS, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistan Army was fully mobilized in respective areas for rescue and relief operations.
The army was joined by the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy. More than 70,000 armed forces personnel were employed in rescue and relief operations. The armed forces rescued around one million people. They coordinated operation of some 70 helicopters and several C-130 and C-17 aircraft, some of them provided by friendly countries, to create air bridges for transporting critical relief supplies to cut-off areas. Moreover, over 100 relief camps were working across the country. On the whole, tens of thousands of tonnes of ration was collected and distributed by the three services. Some of the ration came from the own quota of the sister services. At the relief camps, they provided more than one million packets of cooked food, medicines, beddings, utensils while other essential commodities were also provided. Army engineers had worked hard and completed mega bridges, including Ayub bridge, Chakdara bridge, Bagh Dehri bridge, Mingora bus stand bridge, Hazara bridge, Shamozai bridge and Mandharran bridge, facilitating hundreds of thousands of flood victims of 2010 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Later, the armed forces worked to restore communication system and rehabilitate the flood victims by building houses and schools. In short, the Pakistan armed forces are always ready to help the Pakistani nation in times of crisis and natural disasters.
Supplies are needed in emergencies