As thousands in the UK slowly begin to recover from the widespread flooding that hit the country recently, the British Red Cross has today (3 August) launched an emergency Asia Floods Appeal to raise funds for the millions of people affected by devastating floods throughout Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Torrential rain across Asia has left millions of people homeless and killed hundreds. The continuous monsoon rains have caused misery right across the continent. Flash floods and landslides have destroyed thousands of villages, huge swathes of farmland and vital roads.
In China, one of the worst affected countries, as many as 200 million people have been caught up in the country’s worst flooding for more than 50 years. In Pakistan the floods have affected 2.5 million people across Sindh and Baluchistan provinces claiming more than 300 lives, and damaging or destroying 80,000 homes. And in India, an estimated 13.3 million people have been affected by what has been described as the worst flooding in India for decades.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is providing emergency relief to all the affected countries. Volunteers are delivering food, water and basic healthcare to millions of families who have lost everything in the floods.
A spokesperson of Clarence House said how heartened the Prince of Wales, President of the British Red Cross, was, to learn of the efforts of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers who have been working around the clock to rescue survivors and distribute essential life saving supplies like water and food, in affected communities.
“His Royal Highness hopes very much that The British Red Cross’s appeal will help bring urgent relief where it is needed most and help avert a major humanitarian catastrophe, including the outbreak of disease,” the spokesperson said.
Money raised from the Asia Floods Appeal will help provide emergency relief to all the affected countries. This will include delivering food, water and basic healthcare to millions of families. Barclays Bank has made the first donation to the fund.
In Pakistan, the British Red Cross emergency mass sanitation team have been working in affected areas since 20 July. This is the first time the mass sanitation team has been deployed. It is a new initiative set up this year to save lives by reducing disease from poor sanitation following a disaster.
Speaking from Sindh in Pakistan, Vendela Fortune, British Red Cross mass sanitation team leader said: “Despite the flooding, it is so hot, almost 50 centigrade which is almost unbearable for everyone. Many people have lost their home and have lost their belongings after escaping the floods with only what they could carry. We are handing out hygiene kits and ensuring there are toilets and washing facilities for people to use."
British Red Cross chief executive, Nick Young, has just returned from India where he witnessed the devastating impact of the flooding: “The scale of the flooding is mind-numbing, with millions displaced, and no sign of a halt to the rain. I met with local Red Cross volunteers who are trained to carry out search and rescue and distribution of emergency kits. We desperately need more funds to ensure that we reach those people whose lives have been destroyed by this devastating flooding.”
To give to the Asia Floods Appeal please go to: www.redcross.org.uk/asiafloods
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Notes to editors
The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies.
We enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies
in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them to recover and move on
with their lives. | 
