RAF flies aid to Pakistan flooding victims

A giant C17 transport plan will fly a load of tents and other supplies from a United Nations store in Dubai to the Peshawar region.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday visited areas left devastated by the flood waters in the wake of the first official confirmation of an outbreak of cholera.

The UN said one case of the highly-infectious deadly waterborne disease was confirmed in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan and other cases were suspected.

Oxfam claimed donors had failed to respond with the necessary swiftness and scale since the floods initially struck more than two weeks ago after heavy monsoon rains.

The organisation said it hoped Ban Ki-moon's visit would "inspire serious and tangible commitments from the world's richest governments".

Neva Khan, Oxfam's country director in Pakistan, said: "The speed with which the situation is deteriorating is frightening. Huge swathes of the country remain underwater and we are extremely concerned about the risk of diseases such as malaria, cholera and dengue fever.

"Communities desperately need clean water, latrines and hygiene supplies, but the resources currently available cover only a fraction of what is required."

The RAF said crews had been asked by the Department for International Development to provide flood relief support to Pakistan including tents, food and health kits. United States military forces have also been helping with aid efforts.

Reports from Pakistan said the situation was worsening. One aid handout in the town of Sindh had to be abandoned when it descended into chaos as desperate local people ripped at each other's clothes.

Waters 5ft deep yesterday washed through Derra Allah Yar, a city of 300,000 people on the border of Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. About 200,000 people have fled the city.

Authorities said more flood surges were coursing down the River Indus and other waterways in southern Sindh province, inundating hundreds of other villages.

About 1,500 people have died in the disaster and more than 7.9 million acres of cotton, sugar cane and wheat crops destroyed. The International Monetary Fund has warned of dire economic consequences in a country already reliant on foreign aid to keep its economy afloat and one key to the war against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The US has donated millions of dollars and sent military helicopters to rescue stranded people and drop off food and water. Officials hope the assistance will support a pivotal regional ally and help improve to its image in the country as it seeks its support in the battle against militancy.

More than 1,500 people have died and just under 20 million have been affected by the flooding – the worst in the country's history.

Aid agencies warned that six million children are at risk of life-threatening diarrhoeal diseases, malnutrition and pneumonia.

Stagnant flood plains in densely populated, poverty-stricken urban areas could become breeding grounds for cholera, mosquitoes and malaria.

Around 12m has been donated by the British public in the wake of an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

Anyone who wants to give to the appeal can call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit http://www.dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque.

People can also donate 5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707.

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