Aid helicopters grounded as downpours add further to devastation in Pakistan

Storms grounded helicopters carrying emergency supplies to Pakistan's flood-ravaged north-west yesterday as rain brought more destruction to the country.

US Chinooks had hoped to reach to the upper areas of the hard-hit Swat Valley where many thousands are living in tents or crammed into public buildings.

Over the last week floods have spread from the north-west down

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Pakistan, killing about 1,500 people and affecting more than four million. Much of the destruction has come from the Indus River, which – in better times – irrigates vast swathes of farmland.

About 30,000 Pakistani soldiers are rebuilding bridges, delivering food and setting up relief camps in the north-west, which is also the main battleground in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Foreign countries and the United Nations have donated millions of pounds to help.

Also helping out are Islamist charities, including at least one with links to a banned militant organisation.

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The government has come under criticism for not doing enough, especially since President Asif Ali Zardari went ahead with a trip to Europe at the height of the crisis.

In the Sukkur area of Sindh in southern Pakistan, 70 villages had been flooded in 24 hours, the navy said.

"Floods killed our people, they have ruined our homes and even washed away the graves of our loved ones.

"Yet we are here without help from the government," said Mai Sahat, a 35-year-old women looking over a flooded landscape where her village used to be.

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Yesterday, Saleh Farooqi, head of the provincial disaster management authority in Sindh, said that by Thursday night about 200,000 people had been evacuated from areas where floods could hit, but many more were still living in the danger zone.

"About 500,000 people living near the Indus River do not realise the gravity of the situation, and they do not know how fast the water is rushing to their areas," he said.

Appeal response in uk 'fantastic'

The UK public donated 2.5m for flood victims in Pakistan within hours of a TV appeal being broadcast, UK charities said yesterday.

Response to the appeal was "fantastic", the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said, especially given the tough economic times.

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The DEC said its members, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Action Aid, had helped 300,000 survivors.

DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley said: "Once again, the generosity of the British public has been fantastic.

"Aid agencies are already distributing medical supplies, clean water and food parcels, but this will allow them to really scale up their response."

To donate call 0370 60 60 900 at any time, go to any post office or high street bank, send a cheque payable to "DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal" to PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA or visit www.dec.org.uk.

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