Governor for mass awareness campaign about heatwave precautions

Karachi

If we are to curb a replay of last year's tragic deaths, a comprehensive awareness campaign needs to be launched to inform masses about necessary precautionary measures to be taken during a heatwave, said Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan on Wednesday.

“Labourers and commuters must be given preference in this regard as 90 percent of the deaths reported last year were reported on city roads last year.”

He was speaking at the 4th National Monsoon Forum and Heatwaves Awareness Workshop. The director general of the Meteorological Department (PMD), Dr Ghulam Rasul, an expert from the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) Thailand, Ruby Rose, and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Maj Gen (Retd) Asghar Nawaz were also present on the occasion.

He said the people of Karachi could not forget about the last year’s heat-weaves which took many precious lives in the city.  “This year, we have already experienced unprecedented hot weather in February and recently during the last week of April, while there is a forecast of hot and dry weather and also severe monsoon in coming summer which may result in urban flooding,” he observed.

The governor said that no one could fight or stop natural disasters, but with better preparedness, the losses could be minimised to a great extent.

“The role of media in informing the masses about the precautionary measures is very crucial as it can teach and guide the people in a convincing way,” he added.

He said it was commendable that the PMD was working in collaboration with RIMES and had also chalked out a comprehensive strategy in this regard, which was also being coordinated by the health department, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the K-Electric.

“The establishment of the Early Warning System Centre in Karachi by the PMD is also a welcome step in the right direction,” he added.

While commending the participation of all stakeholders in the awareness campaign, the governor hoped that the workshop would serve as a platform for formulating a viable strategy in this regard.

“Through brainstorming sessions, the participants from DRM agencies, climate experts, journalists and other stake holders would be able to constitute an effective mechanism to cope with such disasters,” he opined.

Speaking about the threat of urban flooding due to severe monsoon forecast, the governor asked all the relevant departments to be well prepared for the challenge.

He also lauded the establishment of the heat wave protection camps by the KMC administration.