October 19, 2000. Copyright 2000. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

U.S. FLY IN AID TO FLOOD-RAVAGED VIETNAM

LONDON, October 19, Graphic News: THE U.S. Air Force began flying emergency supplies into Vietnam on Wednesday, where flooding has swamped half the country and killed at least 485 people.

A C-130 transport brought enough plastic sheeting to provide shelter for about 4,000 of an estimated 300,000 people forced from their homes in the worst-hit Mekong Delta region.

Two more U.S. flights on Friday will bring 13 heavy duty rubber boats and two giant water purification tanks, each capable of providing drinking water for 10,000 people daily. The supplies are financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The first aircraft, which flew from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, landed at Ho Chi Minh CityÕs Tan Son Nhat airport -- a U.S. air base during the Vietnam War.

The Red Cross says five million people have been affected in the Mekong Delta since floods began in late August. Many evacuees have had to camp for weeks on crumbling earth dykes, short of food and with no fresh water, raising fears of diseases like cholera and dengue fever.

Nguyen Thi Hoi, vice president of the Vietnam Red Cross, said three million people needed assistance and overseas aid was very important. ÒWe highly appreciate the assistance from the foreigners, especially from the USAID,Ó she said.

The latest U.S. contribution is on top of an earlier pledge of about $250,000 and the European Commission said on Wednesday it had committed the equivalent of $614,000.

ÒItÕs a great feeling to be able to help the flood victims of Vietnam,Ó said C-130 pilot Mike Miller, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. ÒWe'll do whatever we can to help out.Ó

The Delta floods, the worst in 40 years, are not expected to recede fully until late November and will delay planting of VietnamÕs main winter-spring rice crop.
/ENDS
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press