UN will mobilize humanitarian aid for flood victims: Ban

UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced serious concern over the deadly floods in Pakistan, saying the United Nations was in the process of formulating an appropriate response to meet the needs of over 5 million victims.

Responding to a question at his press conference, Ban said he had discussed with President Asif Ali Zardari the grave situation created by the torrential rains and pledged that the U.N. would provide whatever was possible to help Pakistan deal with the calamity.

He said the high-level UN team, which inspected the flood-affected areas in southern Pakistan, had reported to him that the floods were as severe as last year's flood and in some cases even more destructive.

The secretary-general said that the U.N. would outline within a couple of days its course of action to mitigate the deteriorating situation.

According to UN figures, 230 people have been killed by the flooding and more than 300,000 others displaced, with 1.1 million homes destroyed or damaged. The flooding has inundated 4.5 million acres, cutting major roads and polluting water, affecting 5.5 million people. (APP)