Islamabad: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has set-up five strategic warehouses already stocked with sufficient amount of non-food items to be provided during serious natural disasters.
Talking to APP, NDMA Chairman Lt. Gen Omar Mahmood Hayat said Pakistan has been facing disasters due its geographical location and terrain while no such pre-emptive measures and policy research was done to mitigate disaster risks in the country.
He said during massive earthquakes in Iran, Pakistan sent C-130 plane carrying aid goods within just two to three days time with the assistance of these ware houses, he remarked. It was the only aid that Iran accepted from any country as it helped Pakistan a lot during the 2005 earthquake, he said.
He said NDMA had taken a lot of unique initiatives including Multi-Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) which is an intellectual tool to have research on damages caused and post-disaster requirements of that area in any calamity, he informed. He said district level training of government servants and officials including civil society is done on how to conduct rapid assessment of disaster and requirements of that area.
The Integrated Context Analysis on Vulnerability to Food Insecurity and Natural Hazards of Pakistan by NDMA will help to assess threats posed to food security in areas hit by a disaster and has been shared with the provinces, he said.
A separate policy on minimum relief to be available in the camps set during catastrophes has been formed, he added. While giving an account of the policies formed, he said Heat Wave Guidelines and Management Policy was formed by NDMA which helped secure precious lives lost earlier in 2015.School Safety Guidelines, he added is another landmark initiative whose framework was approved by the then Prime Minister, according to which teachers and children would be sensitized about how to respond in disasters and emergencies.
Astonishingly no work was done in industrial hazards till date, he said adding NDMA has made a comprehensive report on it. The coastal areas were neglected too as Tsunami and tornados take place in the locality and no inclusive work done in this regard while NDMA is working on it, he said.
At present, he said, we are in a better condition than 2005, however it is not the destination of the country rather it has to travel a long journey of progress.
NDMA has undergone huge transformation since the past decade and is striving to become a disaster resilient country reckoned among the best disaster prepared nations, he maintained.