Contact: Press Office, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), 202-712-4320; Public Information: 202-712-4810

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /Standard Newswire/ -- The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, (USAID) airlifted plastic sheeting used to construct transitional shelters for families affected by the October 29 earthquake in Balochistan Province, Pakistan, to the provincial capital of Quetta. This USAID plastic sheeting will help meet the needs of approximately 13,000 people in the affected area as they face the upcoming winter.

USAID airlifted this plastic sheeting in direct response to an immediate need for emergency shelter identified by the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) in coordination with local officials and the international relief community. The commodities, valued at more than $258,000 including transport costs, are included in the $2.5 million USAID has provided for the earthquake relief effort in Pakistan to date.

Through its international and non-governmental partners, USAID continues to distribute much-needed relief commodities in Balochistan Province. On November 3, the first trucks transporting USAID-funded plastic sheeting for the construction of temporary shelters arrived in Quetta. This plastic sheeting was distributed to affected villages in Ziarat District.

This emergency assistance from USAID is in addition to the more than $2 billion the U.S. has provided for development programs in Pakistan to improve health, education, economic growth, democratic governance and to reconstruct areas affected by the October 2005 earthquake.

For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.