Always unprepared

This refers to the editorial ‘Preparing for disaster’ (January 15). It is a timely call to the authorities to wake up and prepare themselves – and people – for impending earthquakes, especially in major cities. Sadly, history proves that nobody will listen to warnings and things will continue on the ‘as is where is’ basis. Like other institutions in the country, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) suffers from poor governance and inefficiency. Apparently, there are no checks and balances on the authority – and other related organisations – as was evident in the occurrence of the recent Murree tragedy.

Poor infrastructure is one of the main reasons for a large number of victims in any earthquake disaster. After the devastating October 2005 earthquake, the government had imposed restrictions on constructing buildings without adopting earthquake-resistant measures. In 2007, the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) also revised its building codes to cover seismic provisions to ensure the safety of people in any future earthquakes. Unfortunately, however, most high-rise buildings in Karachi and Islamabad do not follow the set rules. To ensure that future earthquakes do no prove as disastrous as the one in 2005, the government must enforce these rules.

Hussain Siddiqui

Islamabad