IOM is this week providing over 560 trucks to transport 20,048
metric tonnes (MT) of rice donated by Thailand to Pakistan's
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for distribution
among victims of the country’s disastrous 2010 floods.

The rice, which arrived at Karachi Port Trust from Thailand on
the MV Golden Falcon last week, will be moved to Provincial
Disaster Management Agency (PDMA) warehouses in Sindh, Punjab,
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and to an NDMA warehouse in
Islamabad.

Under the NDMA plan, the PDMAs will distribute 5,000 MT to flood
victims in Sindh, 5,000 MT in Punjab and 5,000 MT in Balochistan. A
further 3000 MT will be distributed by the FATA Disaster Management
Authority (FDMA) and 2,000 MT by the NDMA from Islamabad.

"We are grateful to IOM for providing logistical support to
handle this huge donation and ensure that it reaches the areas in
which it is most needed," said NDMA Operations Member Brig. Sajid
Naeem.

The USAID-funded operation follows a number of other major
US-funded logistics interventions designed to support NDMA relief
operations since the floods, which hit the country in July and
August of 2010, devastating an area the size of Italy.

Earlier this year IOM transported four NATO-donated bridges
weighing 615 MT from Karachi to Swat district – a distance of
some 1,400 kilometres.

The 50-meter long bridges, which arrived in Karachi from Turkey,
were moved in 25 trucks carrying 40-feet containers and another 22
trucks carrying 20-feet containers. On arrival in Swat, they were
handed over to an Army Engineer Battalion in Khwazakhela.

IOM also acted as a consignee for in-kind donations of aid to
the Pakistan government and the NDMA until the official end of the
flood emergency phase in January 2011.

It provided customs clearing, handling and transportation for
in-kind donations from 39 relief flights, 5 overland shipments and
6 sea shipments arriving at Chaklala Airbase in Islamabad, Port
Qasim or Karachi Port Trust. At least, 595 trucks were used to
transport the aid to different relief distribution points across
the country.

For more information please contact:

Saleem Rehmat

IOM Islamabad

Tel: +94.300.8560341

Email: "mailto:srehmat@iom.int">srehmat@iom.int