Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is ramping up its Pakistan flood relief operations to include airlifts of heavy-duty waterproof plastic sheeting that will be provided along with materials purchased locally, such as wood, nails and rope, to construct temporary shelters for families whose homes have been damaged or swept away by flood waters.

USAID has ongoing programs in the flood-affected areas, and the plastic sheeting will expand the reach of existing emergency shelter programs. USAID's initial shipments of plastic sheeting, scheduled to arrive in Pakistan early this week from USAID warehouses in Dubai and Pisa, Italy, will help provide a dry shelter for approximately 144,000 people.

"We are working in support of the relief effort of the Pakistan government and together with the humanitarian community to quickly provide aid to those in need," said Mark Ward, Acting Director of USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. "USAID is committed to this relief effort, and we will continue to provide additional assistance in the weeks and months ahead."

USAID stood up its Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in Pakistan to manage the increased relief efforts of the U.S. Government. The DART is composed of humanitarian relief experts - many of whom worked in Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake - that work with the U.S. Embassy and USAID Mission to monitor assistance and quickly fill identified gaps by purchasing relief supplies locally or calling forward commodities from USAID's warehouses, expanding existing programs and establishing new emergency programs.

To date, the United States has committed over $35 million to assist the flood-affected people of Pakistan. USAID is supporting 13 NGOs and four international organizations working in flood-affected areas and is expanding existing emergency programs and adding programs as the size and scope of the flooding increases. About 50 percent of the food provided to flood-affected families is being provided by USAID through the World Food Program (WFP). The day after announcing the provision of an additional $25 million for the flood relief effort last week, USAID provided funding to the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the expansion of ongoing health, shelter, and water, sanitation and hygiene programs in the affected areas.

For more information about USAID's relief effort in Pakistan, visit transition.usaid.govhttp://transition.usaid.gov/locations/afghanistanpakistan/. To interview a USAID representative in Washington, D.C. or on the ground in Pakistan, contact the USAID Press Office at +1-202-712-4320.