Havoc from the skies

Danger comes unexpectedly, and frighteningly fast, in our country. And at the start of the week it fell, quite literally from the skies, as unseasonal rains lashed much of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Punjab. The rain caused at least 19 deaths, all of them as a result of roof collapses, while in Rawalpindi – the worst-hit city with 130mm of rain – the army was put on alert as water levels in the Nullah Leh rose. People living in shanty towns around the drain have repeatedly encountered mayhem as a result of flooding from it. There are still no preventive measures taken. This neglect and lack of concern for the safety of citizens, particularly the powerless and the voiceless, was a key factor in the series of deaths. Among those killed were four personnel of the Frontier Constabulary, who died in Matani when the roof of their security post collapsed. The post was housed in rented premises with such makeshift arrangements commonplace. Others died in roof collapses in houses in Wah Cantt, Mohmand Agency, Karak, Kasur, and in a village near Bahawalnagar. The deaths may have been scattered, occurring across a vast swathe of territory in two provinces, but were linked by similarities involving inadequate housing and possibly unsafe construction. Eight of the victims were women and children, the sections of the population most likely to be caught inside homes.
In a country prone to hazards of many kinds we need to give serious thought to public safety. While the rains, which have swept across the northern areas of the Subcontinent, may not fit the usual pattern and are being attributed by experts to climate change, the fact is that our region does get a lot of rainfall. There is no reason why they should create quite so much chaos and suffering each year. We see this suffering almost annually during the monsoon season. While natural phenomena such as rain cannot be averted, the scale of damage it causes can be controlled. This is possible by devoting a little more attention to the civic situation in cities and ensuring that building rules are followed. We all know there is little attention paid to these matters. Altering this could prevent the grief we see after each new calamity and also the longer-term impact on families when a wage-earner, or indeed any member of a family, is killed. We have spoken often about disaster management. But beyond the discussions, statements and reports, little happens on the ground. Like those that have occurred before, these deaths and injuries will soon be forgotten. Instead, we need to remember them and ask why people in areas prone to hill torrents such as those in Mohmand were not warned when rain forecasts came in, and why we treat death so casually, doing little to try and stop it from striking.