TURKISH AID ORGANIZATION HELPS FLOOD-STRICKEN PAKISTAN

ANKARA (A.A) - 17.08.2010 - A Turkish aid organization has sent humanitarian aid materials to Pakistan which has recently been shaken by a flood disaster.
Releasing a written statement on Tuesday, Cansuyu Foundation said that its teams had begun distributing the humanitarian aid to the Pakistani flood victims.
The teams, which have distributed food and clothes to 1,000 families in Peshaver so far, would soon proceed to Multan region to help nearly 2,000 more families, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Cansuyu Foundation's Foreign Relations Director Turgay Ayvazoglu, who is currently in Pakistan together with the foundation's relief team, said that officials announced nearly 20 million people had been affected by the flood, 2,000 people had died and more than 3,000 Pakistanis had gone missing. 
Pointing to the transportation problems his team faced while distributing the humanitarian aid, Ayvazoglu said a significant number of Pakistanis had lost their houses and were struggling with the threat of epidemic diseases.
The floods hit Pakistan more than two weeks ago, beginning in the northwest before spreading down the country and inundating thousands of villages.
The disaster has killed more than 1,600 people and inundated 1.7 million acres (700,000 hectares) of wheat, sugar cane and rice crops, officials said.
The UN said that many of about 20 million people affected by the flood have yet to receive any assistance despite a growing international relief effort.