Photo By 1st Lt. Kali Gradishar | A U.S. Marine Corps service member of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit lowers a...... read more read more
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – As the two-month benchmark for conducting flood relief operations in Pakistan drew near, Vice Adm. Mike LeFever visited troops in Pano Aqil and Ghazi Air Bases to see first-hand the efforts of service members providing food, shelter, water and other provisions to flood-affected people throughout the country.
Flood waters tore through the country beginning in late July affecting more than 20 million people, destroying nearly 2 million homes, and annihilating crops where more than 80 percent of the land is farmland.
In response to the floods, initial U.S. relief efforts included the strategic airlift of halal meals into Pakistan.
“Only 36 hours into the flooding, U.S. Air Force C-130s and C-17 aircraft had already begun aid flights,” said LeFever in a U.S. embassy press release. More than 100,000 halal meals were airlifted from U.S. supply depots, July 31 and Aug. 1, - a small, but impactful, amount of provisions in proportion to the additional relief supplies the U.S. provided in the last two months of operations.
As halal meals were flown into the country, six helicopters based in Afghanistan were preparing for flood relief operations and responded within days of the first torrential rains. Four CH-47 Chinooks and two UH-60 Black Hawks were authorized to deploy, arriving in Pakistan, Aug. 4. On the first day of operations, the aircraft evacuated more than 800 people and transported 66,000 pounds of relief supplies.
“They … immediately went into operations up in the northern areas to the most devastated, most hard hit areas,” said the vice admiral. “There’s no other country in the world that can do that -- to provide that kind of strategic airlift and have that kind of capability to respond so quickly.
“We were, by far, the first country that had been able to respond that quickly and with that magnitude of forces,” he said.
Though primary relief efforts began in the north, it became clear that additional support would be needed as northern flood waters flowed south and spread rivers beyond their initial banks.
“This was [like] watching a disaster movie in slow motion to know that these flood waters up north, that created so much devastation and wiped out bridges and cities and towns and flooded areas, was all moving down the Indus [River], and this was going to really be a problem later on in the low-lying areas of Pakistan,” said LeFever.
In response to the increased flooding throughout the entire country, additional aircraft and support personnel joined relief operations. There are now more than 30 U.S. military aircraft in the country providing humanitarian support to the Pakistan government and military. To date, the aircraft have transported more than 13 million pounds of relief supplies and evacuated more than 20,000 people.
We have a number of aircraft “to support the distribution of the relief supplies coming in, the food and non-food items, that are so desperately needed,” LeFever said.
From the initial Army helicopters to the U.S. Air Force fixed wing support and contingency response Airmen, and from the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units to the Navy ships off the coast supporting operations, flood relief efforts in Pakistan are largely a joint effort in coordination with government of Pakistan.
“You look at the magnitude in how we’re able to respond, and it’s really terrific to be able to do,” said LeFever.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2010 13:41 |
| Story ID: | 57254 |
| Location: | ISLAMABAD, PK |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 11 |
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