Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Thursday asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to collaborate with provincial disaster management bodies in order to formulate a national-level strategy.
During his visit to the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), the prime minister PM Kakar lauded the measures taken by NDMA and NEOC in coping with natural disasters. However, he also stressed steps to enhance the capacity of Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs).
The prime minister emphasized benefiting from the research of foreign and Pakistani experts on climate change and the ways to reduce its disastrous effects. The prime minister, who is due to participate in the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-28) in the United Arab Emirates on December 1-2, said Pakistan would update the world about its experiences in the wake of climate change.
Chairman (NDMA) Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik briefed the prime minister about the national strategy for disaster management. Federal Ministers Jalil Abbas Jilani and Shahmshad Akhtar attended the meeting. The meeting was told that NDMA had formulated a strategy for coping with disaster management, making a two-month advance forecast, and minimizing the losses.
It was highlighted that Pakistan was among the countries that were facing the consequences of climate change in the shape of glacier melting, floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), avalanches, landslides, and forest fires.
The meeting was apprised about the tools used by NDMA including mobile disaster vehicles and satellite monitoring to assess the high-risk areas. With a coordinated approach, the data collected is shared with the provincial and local administration.
Earlier last week, Syndicates at National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Provincial Level Simulation Exercise (SimEx) on Thursday showcased their pre-disaster preparedness plans, shared recommendations and coordination strategies with various government and humanitarian stakeholders.
The Multi Hazards SimEx covers a range of topics to enhance the disaster management cycle including components of gender and child protection.
The purpose of conducting multi-hazards mock exercises was to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities of Balochistan’s disaster management agencies to deal with emergency-like situations.
As part of proactive approach, NDMA has organized three-day simulation exercises. The syndicates also emphasized the need for effective coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders involved in disaster management and relief activities.
The participants applied the learned concepts to respond to simulated disasters at local and national level. Six syndicates participated in the mock exercise including representatives from Provincial Disaster Management Authority Balochistan, District Disaster Management Authorities, armed forces and NGOs.
Mock drills on preparedness and response based on various scenarios such as cyclones, forest fires, floods and earthquakes were conducted in the exercise. NDMA conducted first SimEx at national level in March this year in Islamabad.
To examine technical driven probabilistic recurrence of floods, forest fires, earthquake, coastal emergencies in Balochistan, the exercise would enable the provincial departments and local administrations for preparing plan at all tier.
