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WASHINGTON (Aug. 5, 2010) - The United States is rushing helicopters, hundreds of thousands of halal meals, mobile water treatment units, rescue boats, temporary shelters and other life-sustaining items to Pakistan in the aftermath of the worst monsoon flooding in nearly a century, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

At an August 4 press briefing, Clinton said that "an estimated 1,500 people have lost their lives, but many more are missing." Clinton also announced August 1 that the United States is providing $10 million in humanitarian relief assistance to Pakistan.

"Thousands are trapped, and hundreds of thousands require emergency assistance," she added at a joint briefing with Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is coordinating the U.S. relief effort.

At the White House, President Obama sent his condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating floods, said Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the National Security Council.  The president has been receiving regular briefings and updates on the crisis, he added.

Hammer said more U.S. aircraft will be made available to help deliver additional critical humanitarian assistance being sent now and in the days to come. Six additional U.S. helicopters arrived in Pakistan August 4 - four CH-47 Chinooks and two UH-60 Blackhawks - to assist the Pakistani government by delivering relief supplies and transporting people in need of urgent emergency assistance, according to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

"In addition to announcing an initial amount of $10 million in aid to meet urgent requirements for meals, shelter, clean water and other life-sustaining needs, the United States has provided over 460,000 meals, 12 prefabricated bridges, four rescue boats and mobile water treatment units to support the humanitarian effort," Hammer added.

U.S. helicopters are assisting the Pakistani Interior Ministry's rescue operations and have rescued more than 730 people and transported more than 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms) of aid to victims trapped in remote areas, Hammer said.

Relief has been coordinated closely with the Pakistani government and Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority since the floods struck July 29.

"We've been working hard over the past year to build a partnership with the people of Pakistan," Clinton said. "And this is an essential element of that partnership: reaching out and helping each other in times of need."

Clinton also urged Americans to join the relief effort and send some much-needed help to the people of Pakistan. A special relief line has been set up so that U.S.-based contributors can send donations by cellular telephone. Callers can text the word "SWAT" to the number 50555.

In so doing, the caller makes a $10 contribution that will help the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provide tents, clothing, food, clean drinking water and medicine to the Pakistani people displaced by the floods, Clinton said.

"I have seen firsthand the strength and resilience of the people of Pakistan," Clinton said. "They have the capacity to come through this challenge and swiftly rebuild."

Shah told reporters that USAID is working with U.S. civilian and military officials and that most of the United States government is mobilizing a broad range of resources to help Pakistan in some specific and critical ways.

"We're doing it focused initially on assessment, search and rescue," Shah said.  "We've sent Zodiac [inflatable] boats, helicopters, specialist teams and worked with an NGO [nongovernmental organization] network that includes literally thousands of people on the ground, to be able to gather information in support of the overall relief."

The United States is working with the World Food Programme and others to provide up to 150,000 families with two to three months of immediate food support and relief, Shah added.

"We're providing water units that will reach more than 60,000 families immediately," he said.

In addition, USAID is working to help provide a disease early-warning system to track and make sure there are no subsequent public health diseases of the kind that often spread during crises, he said. Assessments will also have to be made after floodwaters recede to determine the impact on infrastructure and assess rebuilding needs, he said.

Shah said medical supplies stored at a warehouse in Dubai are being used to restock health clinics and medical facilities in Pakistan as they are needed.

"We're already sending commodities and medicines and vaccines from that warehouse to Pakistan," said Shah, who is a medical doctor with extensive public health experience.

USAID already has several hundred staff working in Pakistan, but a broader civilian response will be mobilized from NGOs and U.N. partners for this emergency, he added.

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