MISSISSAUGA, ON. — World Vision is responding to the victims of flash floods, avalanches and heavy snowfall in the remote North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan where 300 have been killed and another 17,000 left homeless.

The region is on "high alert" as below-freezing temperatures endanger thousands of survivors who have retreated to higher and colder altitudes for safety. Torrential rains are forecast for the rest of the month in parts of Baluchistan where 40 villages have been hit and in the NWFP.

"The situation is dire. World Vision already works in these areas. We will respond," said Sigurd Hanson, country director. "We are looking for an initial $350,000 U.S."

World Vision Pakistan is appealing for funds to buy 2,000 quilts, 400 tents and food items for more than 1,000 households, i.e. rice, sugar, tea, cooking oil, lentils and wheat flour. World Vision will also be renting bulldozers to help dig out communities.

World Vision has worked in the region for the last year repairing more than 100 schools and 25 medical facilities following an earthquake. It has also provided emergency first aid training to several hundred teachers in the disaster prone areas of NWFP.

The total affected population is about 3,300 people in the Battegram, Manserra and Swat districts where World Vision is carrying out earthquake rehabilitation programs

Heavy snowfall in the northern most parts of the NWFP has essentially cut the region off from the rest of the country. The country's meteorological department reported some parts of the country have received the heaviest rain and snow in seven years.

Hundreds have been rescued but others have fled to elevations where even helicopters from Pakistan's armed forces and civil administration cannot always land. Helicopters are dropping aid in the most inaccessible places. Many face shortages of food for themselves and fodder for their cattle.

"When the disaster hit, World Vision staff were immediately sent to the district capital of Manserra to survey and identify the most urgent needs. We anticipate a timely response in collaboration with local NGOs, just as we did following last year's devastating earthquake," Hanson said.

World Vision staff was attending an emergency coordination meeting of international NGOs on Valentine's Day Monday. The agencies work under the heading of Pakistan Humanitarian Group, a forum that regularly coordinates and mitigates emergency situations.

A World Vision project officer who talked to district officials, police and local authorities reported from Manserra that 350 houses were destroyed and another 500 severely damage.

Fifty deaths were confirmed, including women and children, but numbers are expected to rise as helpers reach far-flung areas. Schools were closed by a directive of the district government and more than 60 cattle and goats were reported killed.

Forty people were reported injured, which is a number also expected to increase. The entire populations of three villages — Hilkot, Kund, Kund Balla — were moved becaue of the extensive damage.

World Vision is an international Christian humanitarian relief and development organization working in more than 90 countries, providing help to more than 85 million people each year.