ISLAMABAD: Technology giant Google will donate $500,000 for flood relief efforts in Pakistan, its Southeast Asia vice-president said on Thursday, as the rain death toll across the South Asian nation topped 1,200.
Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the north have brought floods that have so far killed 1,208 people, including 416 children, in Pakistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The United Nations has appealed for $160 million in aid to help tackle what it said was an "unprecedented climate catastrophe" in the South Asian country.
The UN children's agency UNICEF on Friday said many more children could die from disease.
"Our hearts go out to each and every one impacted by the ongoing floods in Pakistan," Stephanie Davis, Google vice-president for Southeast Asia, said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.
"Through our philanthropic arm, Google.org, a US$500,000 grant will be made to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which will provide sub-grants to local organizations that are on the front lines of crisis response and recovery."
Davis praised the Pakistani people for coming together and helping each other, despite being faced with the fear of having their homes washed away and vital farmland destroyed.
"We will continue to find more ways to help through our tools and resources," she added.
