Update: U.S. Response to Pakistan's Flooding Disaster

Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

September 17, 2010

The United States has responded immediately and generously to Pakistan's call for assistance following the tragic and devastating floods that began July 29. The United States Government is now providing more than $269 million to assist with relief and recovery efforts, which does not include considerable in-kind and technical assistance specifically to address the impact of these floods.
This includes approximately $219 million to support immediate relief efforts in Pakistan, through many local and international organizations, the Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority, and the UN’s emergency response plan. An additional $50 million has also been allocated for initial recovery efforts to assist with rebuilding communities impacted by the floods. The U.S. also has provided civilian and military in-kind assistance in the form of halal meals, pre-fabricated steel bridges and other infrastructure support, as well as air support to and within Pakistan to transport goods and rescue people at an approximate value of $53.5 million.* These aircraft have evacuated more than 15,000 people and delivered approximately 7 million pounds of relief supplies. We are also expanding pre-existing programs in flood-affected areas.
American business and private citizens are also making generous contributions to assist the people of Pakistan.

Selected U.S. Contributions To Date:

• In total, the U.S. has provided 13 mobile water treatment units that each produce enough clean water for 20,000 people a day; twelve 20,000-liter water bladders for the storage of clean water; 208,750 10-liter water containers; 15 million water purification tablets (sufficient to chlorinate 150 million liters of water); 58 Zodiac inflatable rescue boats; 96 concrete saws and saw blades; 237,005 blankets; and 8,263 rolls of plastic sheeting for the construction of temporary shelters. These relief supplies brought in from USAID warehouses in Dubai, Italy, and the United States are in addition to the supplies purchased locally by partners that are providing to those in need.
• From September 1-13, WFP and partners reached approximately 1.2 million people with nearly 15,800 metric tons of food. Since August 1, WFP and partners have reached nearly 3 million people in 50 districts in 6 provinces with nearly 50,000 metric tons of food. The U.S. has provided $51.5 million in food assistance to date.
• By September 14, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which the United States is supporting through the State Department, had assisted more than 928,000 flood-affected people across Pakistan.

Private Sector Response:

• To date, the private sector has donated approximately $10.5 million in contributions to flood relief efforts. Private sector entities that have contributed include: 3M, Abbott, Agility Logistics, Al-Bario Engineering, Alcatel-Lucent Foundation, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, BASF, Bayer, Becton Dickinson, BHP Billiton Petroleum, BMO Financial Group, BMW Group, Boeing, BP, Cargill, Caterpillar, Chevron, Cisco, Citi, Coca-Cola, Cummins, Inc, DHL, The Dow Chemical Co., DTAC Thailand, DuPont, DynCorp International, EMC, Environment Consultancies & Options, Equate Petrochemical, Expedia, Inc., ExxonMobil, Feros Sons Laboratories, GE, General Mills, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, James Hardie, Hadayat Sons, Harris Financial Corporation, Honda Motor Co., ICI Pakistan, Infineon Technologies, ITT Corporation, JCB, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Kabani & Company, KAPCO, Kraft Foods, Levi Strauss, LG Electronics, MDS Foods, Medtronic, Microsoft, MoneyGram International, Monsanto, Motorola, NetSol Technologies, Inc., Novo Nordisk, Orascom Telecom, Pakistan Telecommunication Company LTD., PepsiCo, Pfizer, Primatics Financial, Procter & Gamble, Rogers Communications, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, Henry Schein, Inc., Sheraton, Siemens, Silver Star Enterprises, Staples, Inc., Tethyan Copper Company, Toshiba Group, Toyota, Tpad, UPS, Verizon, Visa, Western Union, and Wackenhut Pakistan.
• People in Pakistan are invited to share information and updates by SMS texting the word FLOODS to 7111. People using the country’s active Humari Awaz (“Our Voice”) cell phone network are able to update each other about the latest flood news, valuable NGO grant and business opportunities and to make new announcements of support by SMS texting the word FLOODS to 7111. The Humari Awaz social network was launched by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Government College Lahore during her visit to Pakistan in October 2009. Since the launch, the network’s subscribers collectively have sent over 350 million messages. To learn how to use Humari Awaz mobile users need only SMS the words "HELP" or "MADAD" to 7111.

Public Donation Information:

• The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. Cash donations allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, warehouse space, etc); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.
• The Government of Pakistan and the Pakistan cellular phone industry are inviting Pakistanis to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Fund for Flood Relief beginning August 5 by texting the amount of their donation to “1234.” A number of NGOs and companies have announced the establishment of trust funds or donations to the Prime Minister’s Fund.
• As Secretary Clinton announced August 18, the U.S. government, through the Department of State, has established the Pakistan Relief Fund for all to join in the tremendous relief, recovery and reconstruction effort. Individuals, corporations, and other organizations can send much needed help to the people of Pakistan by contributing to this fund at www.state.gov. In the U.S., individuals can send $10 through mobile phones by texting “FLOOD” to 27722.
• Working with mGive, Americans are also contributing to Pakistan flood relief by texting the word “SWAT” to 50555. The text results in a donation of $10 to the UNHCR Pakistan Flood Relief Effort. Every $10 helps provide tents and emergency aid to displaced families.
• A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for flood response efforts in Pakistan can be found at www.interaction.org. Information about organizations responding to the humanitarian situation in Pakistan may be available at www.reliefweb.int.
• More information can be found at:

o www.state.gov/pakistanflooding
o USAID: www.usaid.gov/pakistanflooding
o The Center for International Disaster Information: www.cidi.org or (703) 276-1914

• *The in-kind figure is not included in the calculation of the current USG total. It is an estimate of costs to date. The amount will be adjusted as additional information becomes available.