Pakistan floods: Saudi Arabia pledges $100m ( & Second wave of flooding has hit southern provinces)

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Oil-rich country overtakes US as main aid donor as second wave of flooding hits new areas in southern provinces -

Saeed Shah in Islamabad -
Wednesday 18 August 2010 20.49 BST -

Saudi Arabia has overtaken the US as the largest donor to Pakistan's flood relief effort, following criticism that Muslim countries were not giving enough for victims of the disaster.

The oil-rich country is to give $105m (£67m) in aid, according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, though just $5m of this is in cash, with the rest in the form of relief goods. The Saudi public has separately raised $19m.

The pledge was made as a spurt of other money came in for the still sluggish fundraising drive. The European Union increased its contribution, by €30m (£24m) to €70m, and the UN said that its appeal was now half funded.

The flooding is still inundating new areas, with two or more weeks of the monsoon season yet to run, while the threat of disease means the crisis could grow much worse. A second wave of flooding has hit new areas of the southern provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

In Britain, the Disasters Emergency Committee expressed "grave concern" today that cholera cases had been confirmed.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/pakistan-floods-saudi-arabia-pledges

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Check out these BEFORE and AFTER satellite photos of Pakistan...(Dialup Warning)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8970355

[aquart]

1. And this on Twitter:

habibh

Doctors needed in Pakistan - GP /A&E /Infectious Diseases/ Psychiatry/ Paediatrics/ Obs & gyn - contact [e-mail] about 6 hours ago via web Retweeted by octavianasr and 30 others

[OhioChick]

2. Good to see more pledges of aid....

I think that Saudi Arabia sees what's at stake here.

[aquart]

3. $100 million? What else costs that much?

[Turborama]

4. Technically it's 105

But what are you suggesting?